%0 Journal Article %A Wenchao Lu %A Chandika Amarasinghe %A Emily Zhang %A Andrew Martin %A Sumanjeet Kaur %A Ravi S Prasher %A Musahid Ahmed %B Cell Reports Physical Science %D 2022 %G eng %N 8 %P 100988 %R 10.1016/j.xcrp.2022.100988 %T Probing hydrogen-bond networks in plastic crystals with terahertz and infrared spectroscopy %U https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2666386422002740 %V 3 %8 08/2022 %! Cell Reports Physical Science %X

A molecular-level understanding of phase changes in hydrogen-bonded solid-state systems is of great importance in fields spanning thermal science to medical therapeutics. Polyols have recently emerged as prime targets for deployment, given their versatility in phase-induced changes, and occupy a deep space in eutectic solvents. Here, we explore the hydrogen-bond network of neopentyl glycol (NPG) with terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, attenuated total reflection spectroscopy in the far- and mid-infrared regions augmented by electronic structure calculations. A picture emerges where vibrational spectroscopy can exquisitely probe a crystalline to amorphous solid-solid phase transition while spectroscopy in the mid-infrared region provides a molecular picture of the phase transition. These methods are then applied to understand the thermal properties and phase changes in NPG upon incorporation of bis(trifluoromethane)-sulfonimide lithium salt, to demonstrate that vibrational spectroscopy can directly probe the disruption of hydrogen-bond networks in plastic crystals.