Variable Pressure – Chemical Crystallography

BCA Spring Meeting 2012

Apr 202012

The 2012 Meeting of the British Crystallographic Association was held at Warwick University. Oxford was very well represented this year with Kirsten Christensen chairing the Programme Committee and prizes being awarded to Joe Paddison, Nick Funnell and Emma McKinley.

Other contributions from Oxford include:

Karim J. Sutton, Kirsten E. Christensen, Amber L. Thompson & Richard I. Cooper
Exploiting the Tunable Wavelength Capabilities of I19 (Poster & Oral Presentation)

Callum A. Young & Andrew L. Goodwin
An Examination of the Low Temperature Structure of Fe₃O₄ Using Reverse Monte Carlo Refinements (Oral Presentation)

Andrew L. Goodwin
Frameworks, Flexibility and Frustration (Oral Presentation)

Kirsten E. Christensen, Amber L. Thompson & Arwen R Pearson
Discussion Forum: From Small Molecules to Proteins: Bridging the Gap

Emma J. McKinley, Kirsten E. Christensen & Amber L. Thompson
Investigation of the Transient Modulated Phase of Barluenga’s Reagent (Poster)

Andrew B. Cairns, Amber L. Thompson, Andrew L, Goodwin, Matthew G. Tucker & Julien Haines
Anomalous Compression of Cyanide Frameworks: Mechanisms for Extreme Negative Response (Poster)

Callum A. Young, Edward Dixon, Michael A. Hayward & Andrew L. Goodwin
Apical Oxygen Bonding in YBCO – A Reverse Monte Carlo Approach (Poster)

Ines E. Collings, Andrew B. Cairns, Amber L. Thompson, Andrew L, Goodwin, Philip Pattison, Julien Haines, Matthew G. Tucker, Julia E. Parker & Chiu C. Tang
Transferable Mechanics in Molecular Framework Materials (Poster)

Joseph A. M. Paddison, Andrew L. Goodwin, Ross Stewart, Pascal Manuel, Matthias J. Gutmann, David A. Keen, Matthew G. Tucker, Andrew Wildes & Brian Rainford
Frustration and Magnetic Diffuse Scattering in β-Mn_0.8Co_0.2 and MnO: A Reverse Monte Carlo Study (Poster)

Matthew Cliffe & Andrew L. Goodwin
Disorder and Defects in Zirconium MOFs (Poster)

Nicholas P. Funnell, Martin T. Dove Andrew L. Goodwin Simon Parsons & Matthew G. Tucker
How Molecules Prepare to Undergo a Transition: The Onset of Disorder in Solid Cyclohexane (Poster).

Karim speaks to the Young Crystallographers

Emma, Richard and Ines go to the conference dinner

Ines and Emma

This time Karim brought his Dad…

Callum and Emma at Dinner

Kirsten presents Nick with his prize

Emma receives her prize

Contemplating Fourier Transforms…

Dr. David R. Allan

Mar 072012

Dave is the Principal Beamline Scientist on the small-molecule single-crystal diffraction beamline, I19. Before his appointment at Diamond in 2006, Dave was a lecturer in The School of Physics at The University of Edinburgh and he laterally held an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship within The School of Chemistry. Apart from developing the beamline to improve its capabilities for the ever increasing user base, his main research interests involve the high-pressure and low-temperature polymorphism of small-molecule systems and the development of in situ crystal growth techniques. Dave can occasionally been seen around the department, usually on Tuesdays, when he gets the chance to attend the Chem. Cryst. group meetings.

Structure of the Month – September 2011

Sep 012011

Presented by: Andrew B. Cairns & Dr. Amber L. Thompson
Research Leader: Dr. Andrew L. Goodwin
Published: Journal of the American Chemical Society (cover article)

Negative Linear Compressibility (NLC) is where a material unusually expands in one direction under increasing pressure. Potassium manganese dicyanoargentate exhibits the largest NLC over an extended range of any known material: ‑12.0(8) TPa^–1. The structural features are both beautiful and unique to cause this effect. [MnN₆] octahedra are connected via almost linear ‘floppy’ NC–Ag–CN units, with K⁺ ions positioned above and below alternating Ag₃ Kagome triangles (top). The lattice framework is made up of three independent interpenetrated a-Polonium nets (bottom right), with only weak argentophilic interactions between the nets. Variable temperature SCXRD was carried out in Oxford and the variable pressure work was the first pressure experiment carried out on WISH at ISIS.

Structure of the Month – September 2011