Phase Behavior and Polymorphism of Organic Crystals Confined within Nanoscale Chambers

Controlling polymorphism, the ability of a compound to adopt more than one solid-state structure, often relies on empirical manipulations of conditions such as solvent, temperature, and mode of crystallization. Despite a growing interest in nanocrystalline formulations, however, the influence of crystal size on polymorph formation and stability is largely unexplored. Nanocrystals of pimelic acid, HO2C(CH2)n-2CO2H (n = 7), glutaric acid (n = 5), suberic acid (n = 8), and coumarin (1,2-benzopyrone) in nanometer-scale pores of controlled pore glass (CPG) beads and hexagonally ordered cylindrical pores of poly(cyclohexylethylene) (p-PCHE) monoliths exhibit size-dependent polymorphism and thermotropic behavior because of the physical constraints imposed by the dimensions of the pores. Pimelic acid, suberic acid, and coumarin also exhibit heretofore unknown polymorphs, denoted δ-pimelic acid, β-suberic acid, and β-coumarin, in CPG with pore sizes <23 nm and p-PCHE with pore diameters <40 nm. The melting points ...