Newcastle Chemical Crystallography Service
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newcrystle.bsky.social
Newcastle Chemical Crystallography Service
@newcrystle.bsky.social
Providing crystal structure data and analysis at Newcastle University.

Updates | Publications | Musings
👌👌👌
We couldn't let World Handwriting Day go by without sharing Kathleen Lonsdale's penmanship ✍️

Lonsdale conducted pioneering research in X-ray crystallography and worked at the Ri. In 1929, she proved that the structure of benzene was flat—the chemical was also discovered here, by Michael Faraday.
January 23, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Very happy to share this excellent work in @rscadvances.rsc.org on a Schiff base chemosensor in collaboration with Jashore University of Science and Technology: pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
Selective detection of Cu2+ in aqueous medium using an acid hydrazide-based chemosensor: experimental and DFT/TDDFT studies
An acid hydrazide-based Schiff base, N'-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)picolinohydrazide (HP), was designed and synthesized in a single-step process for the selective detection of Cu2+ ions. The structure of H...
pubs.rsc.org
January 21, 2026 at 9:55 AM
Reposted by Newcastle Chemical Crystallography Service
If you ever wondered how the Standard Model got so crowded… there is a meme living rent-free in our lab that can explain. A weird bump in the data and we are three coffees deep proposing the Ultra-Super-Mega-Boson. Sometimes, physics is 99% maths, 1% “hear me out”!
#ParticlePhysics #PhysicsHumour
January 15, 2026 at 12:11 PM
A really nice report on our recent @natsynth.nature.com article.
#chemsky #organosodium
As the cost of lithium rises, chemists have developed a simple mechanochemical way to make organosodium reagents – alternatives to ubiquitous organolithium ones.
Ball-milled sodium provides easy access to organometallic reagent
Solvent-free organosodium is a promising alternative to lithium reagents
www.chemistryworld.com
January 7, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Better late than never @rigakuoxfordxrd.bsky.social
January 5, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Reposted by Newcastle Chemical Crystallography Service
Now online and open access:

Article by Roly J. Armstrong, Erli Lu, Koji Kubota, Hajime Ito & co-workers

Mechanochemical synthesis of organosodium compounds through direct sodiation of organic halides

www.nature.com/articles/s44...
#Chemsky
Mechanochemical synthesis of organosodium compounds through direct sodiation of organic halides - Nature Synthesis
A mechanochemical protocol for the direct synthesis of organosodium compounds is developed using cheap and shelf-stable sodium lumps and readily available organic halides under bulk, solvent-free cond...
www.nature.com
December 15, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Another great paper from Erli Lu’s group @unibirmingham.bsky.social including structures provided by the Service of products formed in reactions with sodide (Na-): pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
Reactivity of a Sodium Anion with Alkenes: 1-Electron vs 2-Electron Reductions
The sodium anion (sodide) is an uncommon alkali metal species, whose reactivity has been scarcely studied, with previous reports limited to decomposition and quenching reactions of ill-characterized s...
pubs.acs.org
December 16, 2025 at 5:39 AM
Very pleased to share this new article in @natsynth.nature.com with the structure of a short-lived organosodium complex provided by the Service. Well done to all involved at @chemistryncl.bsky.social and Hokkaido University: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
#chemsky #crystallography
Mechanochemical synthesis of organosodium compounds through direct sodiation of organic halides - Nature Synthesis
A mechanochemical protocol for the direct synthesis of organosodium compounds is developed using cheap and shelf-stable sodium lumps and readily available organic halides under bulk, solvent-free cond...
www.nature.com
December 11, 2025 at 9:17 AM
What's my #CSDPacked @ccdc.cam.ac.uk? (Paul G. Waddell)
It's the most wonderful time of the year — #CSDPacked is here! New for 2025 to celebrate 60 years of the CSD.🎉

Get a personalized summary of your published crystal structures from Oct24-Oct25.

Just ask us "What's my #CSDPacked @ccdc.cam.ac.uk?" and tell us your publishing name.

#MoveOverSpotify
December 9, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Big day for people who love puns
December 1, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Another productive morning
#chemsky #scienceeducation
November 13, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Check out our latest collab with @indicatrix.bsky.social and Sultan Qaboos University. Three crystal structures and a lot of weak hydrogen bonds: journals.iucr.org/c/issues/202...
Weak hy­dro­gen bonding in the structures of three double-acyl­ated amino­anti­pyrines
The structures of three doubly-acyl­ated 4-amino­anti­pyrine com­pounds where the aryl substituent is varied are reported and analysed in terms of their relative conformation, inter­molecular inter­ac...
journals.iucr.org
November 11, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Oh dear…

You’re better than that, BBC News.

#crystallography #diffraction
November 8, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Reposted by Newcastle Chemical Crystallography Service
Excited to have proofs in hand of our crystallography children‘s book! Illustrated by an amazing undergrad Justine Wong!

More info coming soon…
#chemsky
October 22, 2025 at 10:33 PM
You love to see it #chemsky #crystallography #dna
October 11, 2025 at 4:48 PM
It's been a while but the publications are flowing again! Check our report on the structure of salcaprozoic acid in @actacrystc.iucr.org in collaboration with Oisín Kavanagh at @nclpharmacy.bsky.social: journals.iucr.org/c/issues/202...
Crystallographic and physicochemical characterization of salcaprozoic acid: a structural basis for SNAC-enabled drug delivery systems
This study presents the first com­prehensive crystallographic characterization of salcaprozoic acid (HNAC), the free acid form of salcaprozate sodium (SNAC), using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. A ...
journals.iucr.org
October 6, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Once more with feeling: 🎵 There's Sb, As, Al, Se...🎵
We're saddened to hear that the musical satirist Tom Lehrer passed away this weekend. His original and witty songs were loved by audiences worldwide, but to chemists he'll always be remembered for this classic: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcS3...
Tom Lehrer - The Elements - LIVE FILM From Copenhagen in 1967
YouTube video by The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel
www.youtube.com
July 28, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Newcastle Chemical Crystallography Service
🎓 Congratulations to the class of 2025 from all of us at Newcastle Chemistry! 🎓
It's been a pleasure teaching you over the last few years and we're excited to see what you do next! Stay in touch and we wish you the very best! #WeAreNCL #NCLGrad
July 18, 2025 at 11:04 AM
I'm happy to have worked with Johannes Voigt to tell this story about a structure with Z' > 1 that exhibits approximate symmetry and combines features of two previously published polymorphs. Pretty much everything I'm about!

Check it out in Crystals: www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/15...
July 18, 2025 at 10:22 AM