Unexpected Molecular Flip in Solid-State Photodimerization

Three cocrystals of the light-stable compound 1,1,6,6-tetraphenyl-2,4-hexadiyne-1,6-diol (I) with light-sensitive molecules 1,2-dimethyl-2(1H)-pyridinone (a), 6-methyl-2(1H)-pyridinone (b) and 2-methyl-2(1H)-pyridinone (c) were exposed to UV light. It was found that the molecules undergo molecular flip perpendicular to the molecular plane (rotation of similar to 180 degrees). In the first two cocrystals, the light-sensitive molecules are disordered, which means that the space provided for them is larger than needed for ordered molecules. Therefore, rotation can take place. Moreover, in I-b, the flip is temperature dependent and takes place without exposure to UV light. Crystal structures at four different temperatures enable one to estimate the activation energy of the flip to be 9.72 kJ/mol. The kinetics of the reaction of I-c was studied at room temperature and revealed a sigmoidal behavior with Avrami exponent of n = 0.95(6) that could be explained by the JMAK model for crystal growth. It means that the nucleation rate is constant over time and that the reaction is homogeneous with equal probability to occur in any region of the sample. This could be explained by the fact that the voids where the reaction and the flip take place are isolated from each other.