Cocrystal
crystalline solid consisting of multiple compounds in a stoichiometric ratio
In materials science (specifically crystallography), cocrystals are "solids that are crystalline, single-phase materials composed of two or more different molecular or ionic compounds generally in a stoichiometric ratio which are neither solvates nor simple salts." A broader definition is that cocrystals "consist of two or more components that form a unique crystalline structure having unique properties." Several subclassifications of cocrystals exist.
Cocrystals can encompass many types of compounds, including hydrates, solvates and clathrates, which represent the basic principle of host–guest chemistry. Hundreds of examples of cocrystallization are reported annually.
History
The first reported cocrystal, quinhydrone, was studied by Friedrich Wöhler in 1844. Quinhydrone is a cocrystal of quinone and hydroquinone (known archaically as quinol). He found that this material was made up of a 1:1 molar combination of the components. Quinhydrone was analyzed by numerous groups over the next decade and several related cocrystals were made from halogenated quinones.
Many cocrystals discovered in the late 1800s and early 1900s were reported in Organische Molekülverbindungen, published by Paul Pfeiffer in 1922. This book separated the cocrystals into two categories; those made of inorganic:organic components, and those made only of organic components. The inorganic:organic cocrystals include organic molecules cocrystallized with alkali and alkaline earth salts, mineral acids, and halogens as in the case of the halogenated quinones.
The public source identifies “Cocrystal” as crystalline solid consisting of multiple compounds in a stoichiometric ratio. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Cocrystal, crystalline and solid.
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This entry incorporates text from “Cocrystal” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.