(610f) In-Situ Optical Imaging and X-Ray Diffraction Techniques to Probe Organic Molecule Thin Film Crystallization

Crystallization of organic materials as thin films is an area of interest in multiple fields, such as in the pharmaceutical industry, organic electronics and for the multiple applications afforded by metal organic frameworks (MOFs). However, many traditional techniques of studying crystal growth and morphology becomes difficult to use for thin film studies, due to the nanometer to micron scale thickness of the films. To overcome this problem, optical and X-ray diffraction techniques can be utilized to probe crystallization of thin films in organic materials. In the crystallization of organic molecules and MOFs, in-situ grazing incidence X-ray diffraction can provide valuable insight in the mechanism of crystal nucleation. In-situ optical studies can then provide complementary information about the crystal growth process in the micron – centimeter scale. Together, in-situ optical and X-ray diffraction technique can provide a clear picture of crystallization spanning multiple orders of magnitude in both temporal and spatial dimensions. This talk will focus on the use of in-situ X-ray diffraction and optical imaging to study crystallization from solution of organic molecules and MOFs. The future of in-situ techniques using novel instrumentation will also be discussed.