Enhancement of dissipated energy by large bending of an organic single crystal undergoing twinning deformation

Abstract

We demonstrate exceptional twinning deformation in a molecular crystal upon application of mechanical stress. Crystal integrity is preserved and the deformation is associated with a large bending angle (65.44°). This is a new strategy to increase the magnitude of the dissipated energy in an organic solid comparable to that seen in alloys. By X-ray crystallographic analysis it was determined that a large molecular rearrangement at the twinning interface preserves the crystal integrity. Drastic molecular rearrangement at the twinning interface helps to preserve hydrogen bonding in the molecular rotation, which facilitates the large bending angle. The maximum shear strain of 218.81% and dissipated energy density of 1 MJ m⁻³ can significantly enhance mechanical damping of vibrations.