High-pressures study by Raman spectroscopy and DFT calculations of L-tyrosine hydrobromide crystal.

The high-pressure Raman spectra of L-tyrosine hydrobromide crystal (LTHBr) were obtained from 1.0 atm to 8.1 GPa in the 100-3200 cm-1 spectral region. The structural conformation and dimensions of the monoclinic unit cell were estimated using the powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) method and Rietveld refinement using the GSAS program. At atmospheric pressure, the Raman spectrum was obtained in the spectral range of 100-3200 cm-1 and the assignment of the normal modes based on density functional theory calculations was provided. Large wavenumber shifts of modes at 106, 123, and 157 were observed, which were interpreted as the large displacement of the atoms, making the molecule a flexible structure. The change in the slope (dÉ· / dP) of these bands between the pressures of 3.0 and 4.0 GPa and the appearance of a mode of low wavenumber indicate the occurrence of a structural phase transition. A band initially observed at 181 cm-1 in the spectrum recorded at 0.7 GPa change the relative intensity with a band at 280 cm-1 (recorded at 5.8 GPa), indicating a conformational transition. In the region of the internal modes, the spectra show changes that reinforce the conformational phase transition since the bands initially at 1247 and 1264 cm-1 observed at 1.0 GPa have their intensities reversed, and at 3.0 GPa it is observed the fusion of the bands at 1264 and 1290 cm-1 (values recorded at ambient pressure). Thus, we can assume that the LTHBr crystal has undergone a structural phase transition and a conformational phase transition in the pressure range investigated.

Pressure-induced phase transitions in DL-glutamic acid monohydrate crystal.

DL-glutamic acid monohydrate crystal was synthesized from an aqueous solution by slow evaporation technique. The crystal was submitted to high-pressure (1 atm-14.3 GPa) to investigate its vibrational behavior and the occurrence of phase transitions. We performed Raman spectroscopy as probe and through the analysis of the spectra we discovered three structural phase transitions. The first one occurs around 0.9 GPa. In this phase transition, glutamic acid molecules suffer modifications in their conformations while water molecules are less affected. The second phase transition at 4.8 GPa involves conformational changes related to CO2-, NH3+ units and the water molecules, while the third one, between 10.9 and 12.4 GPa, involves motions of several parts of the glutamic acid as well as the water molecules. Considering the dynamic of high pressure, the second phase of DL-glutamic acid monohydrate crystal presented a better stability compared with the second phase of its polymorphs α and ß L-glutamic acid. In addition, water molecules seem to play important role on this structural stability. All changes are reversible.

High pressure Raman scattering of DL­isoleucine crystals and DFT calculations.

DL­isoleucine single crystals were grown by the slow evaporation method at ambient temperature. Their vibrational properties were studied at ambient temperature as a function of pressure by Raman scattering. At ambient conditions the mode assignment was done in terms of the Potential Energy Distribution (PED) through density functional theory calculations. Both nitrogen and neon were used as pressure transmitting media. The pressure-dependent investigation shows modifications in the Raman spectra recorded between 30 and 3200 cm-1 that were interpreted as phase transitions undergone by the crystal between 1.3 and 1.9 GPa and between 3.6 and 5.1 GPa. Finally, stress was simulated on the unit cell of the crystal from ambient up to 5.0 GPa.