E. N. Kotelnikova

Non-equimolar discrete compounds in binary chiral systems of organic substances

Since knowledge on the occurrence of non-equimolar discrete compounds in binary systems containing chiral molecules is very limited, this study reviews and systematizes the current state of investigating such systems and summarizes the results on two example systems studied in detail by the authors. In particular, the identification and verification of the non-equimolar discrete compounds compared to other discrete solid phases occurring in the two systems are discussed by presenting the results of related SCXRD, PXRD, TRPXRD, DSC, IR, and HSM studies. The (S)-malic acid–(R)-malic acid system has been found to contain non-equimolar 1 : 3 and 3 : 1 stable (S3R and SR3) and metastable (3S1R and 1S3R) discrete compounds, along with the equimolar compounds RSI and RSII (known monoclinic modifications) and the recently discovered RSIII modification. Polymorphic transformations of the discrete phases are debated, and the crystal structure of the stable compound S3R is identified (S. G. P1). The L-valine–L-isoleucine system has been stated to contain a non-equimolar 2 : 1 discrete compound, V2I, that could independently be proven by the ternary solubility diagram in water and its crystal structure solved (S. G. C2). The results obtained are discussed in conjunction with the findings reported in the literature. In order to systematize the variety of terms used for the description of discrete phases in binary chiral systems of organic substances, a systematization of equimolar and non-equimolar compounds based on chemical and crystallographic characteristics is proposed.

Thermal deformations of crystal structures formed in the systems of malic acid enantiomers and L-valine–L-isoleucine enantiomers

The thermal behavior of discrete phases formed in the respective systems of malic acid enantiomers and L-enantiomers of the amino acids valine and isoleucine was studied using the temperature-resolved PXRD method. In the (S)-malic acid–(R)-malic acid system, thermal deformations in crystal structures of stable compounds (enantiomer S, racemates RSI and RSII, and non-equimolar compound S3R) and polymorph transformations of metastable compounds (racemate RSIII and non-equimolar compound 3S1R) were examined. In the L-valine–L-isoleucine system, thermal deformations in crystal structures of stable compounds L-Val and L-Ile and non-equimolar compound V2I were investigated. Thermal deformation analysis included plotting the temperature dependence of the unit cell parameters and volume, calculating thermal deformation tensors, plotting figures of thermal expansion coefficients (CTE), and estimating the extent of thermal deformation anisotropy. In all the cases studied, the maximal thermal expansion was observed in the direction of the weakest hydrogen (malic acid) or van der Waals (valine and isoleucine) intermolecular bonds, i.e. in the directions closest to that perpendicular to the dimer molecule chains (malic acid) or to molecular layers (valine and isoleucine). The strongest anisotropy of thermal deformations in monoclinic crystals was observed in the ac plane, in which the symmetrically unfixed angle β can vary.