Rapid prediction of molecular crystal structures using simple topological and physical descriptors
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Organic molecular crystals constitute a class of materials of critical importance in numerous industries. Despite the ubiquity of these systems, our ability to predict molecular crystal structures starting only from a two-dimensional diagram of the constituent compound(s) remains a significant challenge. Most structure-prediction protocols require a customized interatomic interaction model on which the quality of the results can depend sensitively. To overcome this problem, we introduce a new topological approach to molecular crystal structure prediction. The approach posits that in a stable structure, molecules are oriented such that principal axes and normal ring plane vectors are aligned with specific crystallographic directions and that heavy atoms occupy positions that correspond to minima of a set of geometric order parameters. By minimizing an objective function that encodes these orientations and atomic positions, and filtering based on the vdW free volume and intermolecular close contact distributions derived from the Cambridge Structural Database, stable structures and polymorphs for a given crystal can be predicted entirely mathematically without reliance on an interaction model.
Source: Nature Communications
Authors: Nikolaos Galanakis, Mark E. Tuckerman
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,790
Awards: DMREF: Accelerated discovery of metastable but persistent contact insecticide crystal polymorphs for enhanced activity and sustainability, Collaborative Research:CDS&E:D3SC:Topology, Rare-event Simulation, and Machine Learning as Routes to Predicting Molecular Crystal Structures and Understanding Their Phase Behavior., G5544327953, G706710039, G8127352815
OpenAlex ID: W4404230199