X-RAY STUDIES OF REACTIONS IN ORGANIC SOLIDS

Abstract

Correlations of the chemical structures of products from organic solid state reactions with the molecular packing in the reactant crystal structures define the extent of lattice restraints on molecular motion before and during reaction. The molecular behaviour after the chemical transition state can be inferred from comparisons of the molecular orientations in the initial and final phases. The formation of preferentially oriented product phases suggests that highly specific geometrical mechanisms are operative but additional criteria are needed to establish a direct correspondence between specific reactant and product molecules. Observable intermediate mesomorphic phases are particularly useful in defining the directions in which crystallographic order is not preserved.