16/06/2026
For decades, scientists have tried to understand why some crystals are brittle, while others are more elastic. Although the concept of flexible crystals may seem surprising, they already exist in the field of materials science. Previous studies have shown that this โplasticityโ or flexibility can arise from the way molecules are arranged and interact within a crystal.
To investigate how this occurs on a microscopic level, researchers at IITGN studied 3โbromo-5-chlorobenzoic Acid (3B5CBA), a model system with the necessary structural characteristics for exploring this phenomenon. Through various bending tests, structural analysis, and advanced imaging techniques, they found that the crystal contains strong molecular layers linked by much weaker interactions, creating slip planes that enable movement of molecular layers under stress. Much like a stack of cards, the molecular layers slide past one another when force is applied, allowing the crystal to bend instead of shatter. The molecule also has a relatively rounded shape, allowing it to rotate and rearrange more easily within the crystal, a trait often associated with flexible materials. Thermal studies further showed that the crystal can convert directly from a solid to a vapour without melting first, by a process called sublimation. Together, these observations revealed the structural features responsible for the crystal's unusual behaviour.
Importantly, this is the first study to report the plastic mechanical behaviour of 3B5CBA crystals and to quantitatively measure their hardness and stiffness. In doing so, it advances our understanding of crystal flexibility and offers valuable design principles for developing flexible materials for pharmaceutical manufacturing, flexible electronics, optical devices, and other advanced technologies.
The team includes Prof Sameer V Dalvi and Deepak Rajput.
For more information, click the link in bio.
https://zurl.co/xhp1K
