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Updated: Sep 8, 2025

From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding
Published on: March 24, 2018
Liquid and Glass Phases of an Alkylguanidinium Sulfonate Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Framework
Adam H Slavney1, Hong Ki Kim1, Songsheng Tao2
1Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States.
Abstract:
Glassy phases of framework materials feature unique and tunable properties that are advantageous for gas separation membranes, solid electrolytes, and phase-change memory applications. Here, we report a new guanidinium organosulfonate hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) that melts and vitrifies below 100 °C. In this low-temperature regime, non-covalent interactions between guest molecules and the porous framework become a dominant contributor to the overall stability of the structure, resulting in guest-dependent melting, glass, and recrystallization transitions. Through simulations and X-ray scattering, we show that the local structures of the amorphous liquid and glass phases resemble those of the parent crystalline framework.
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