Issue 45, 2023

The rich structural phase behaviour of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol

Abstract

In the fairly modest temperature and pressure regime of 0–2 GPa and 200–295 K, 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) exhibits a remarkable degree of polymorphism, with the observation of four ordered phases (forms 1–4) and a cubic plastic phase (form 5). The ordered phases are characterised by hydrogen-bonded chains, with the crystal structures of the three high-pressure forms (forms 2, 3 and 4) based on the same hydrogen-bonded catemeric motif. The structures and relationships between these phases were determined using a combination of high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction, at ambient temperature, and a series of high-pressure neutron powder-diffraction experiments to ∼6 GPa at 295 K, 245 K and 200 K. As well as allowing the determination of the relative compressibilities of the phases, the neutron powder-diffraction studies also provided a preliminary mapping of the surprisingly rich phase diagram of TFE.

Graphical abstract: The rich structural phase behaviour of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
24 Jul 2023
Accepted
10 Oct 2023
First published
01 Nov 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

CrystEngComm, 2023,25, 6291-6302

The rich structural phase behaviour of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol

S. A. Barnett, C. L. Bull, N. P. Funnell and D. R. Allan, CrystEngComm, 2023, 25, 6291 DOI: 10.1039/D3CE00737E

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