The X-ray crystal structures of organic and inorganic systems

The thesis illustrates the usefulness and importance of single crystal X-Ray structure determinations in a number of systems. Apart from gaining insight into molecular structures the technique has been used to investigate a range of second order interactions such as those involved in molecular receptors and those responsible for the ordering of molecules in the solid state. Twenty six papers incorporating over sixty crystal structures are reproduced...[text continues]...A wide range of organic structural problems are also described, from simple structural elucidations to determinations of relative and absolute stereochemistries. The exciting area of supramolecular chemistry is described in the final four papers. Here, the overall conformation and packing of the macrocycles, rotaxanes and catenanes is of interest;- the conformation of cavities, a double helical mode (which obviously has implications for molecules taken from nature) and the 'selfassembly' of many of these systems to form large packing arrays with many interactions is of primary importance. This area is of interest for the development of sensors, molecular switches and nanometer scale devices