and the topic is ripe for development. As has already been indicated, the new frontier
in photocrystallography over the next several decades is the use of X-ray freeelectron laser sources to carry out serial femtosecond studies [41]. The use of
XFELs to track chemical reactions by serial femtosecond pump-probe X-ray crystallography by rapidly recording diffraction patterns at closely spaced time intervals
has already proved successful in macromolecular crystallography [42, 43, 45]. Once
the scaling issues related to using multiple crystals in serial processes are resolved
and diffraction patterns better than atomic resolution [47] are obtained, the prospect
for carrying out molecular crystallography at an XFEL is extremely promising.
In the meantime, for the slower timescale processes (milliseconds to minutes),
detector development will facilitate the use of laboratory sources [26, 140], rather
than the need for synchrotrons. This will mean that many more “routine” timeresolved experiments can be carried out and there are thousands of systems which
would benefit from structural dynamic studies. Additionally, the monitoring of
dynamic processes using multiple techniques simultaneously, such as the combination of photocrystallography with emission spectroscopy or Raman spectroscopy,
will allow the detailed processes within the molecule as well as changes in the
crystalline environment to be monitored in exquisite detail.
Acknowledgements PRR gratefully acknowledges the support of the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EP/K004956) and the Diamond Light Source for the provision of
beamtime.
Dedication This chapter is dedicated to Professor Alan J. Welch of the Chemistry Department,
Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, on his retirement. Alan was completing his Ph.D. in
Chemical Crystallography in Mike Hursthouse’s research group at Queen Mary College, London,
when I joined the group to start mine. Alan guided me through the first year of my Ph.D., and I am
very grateful to him for passing on all his crystallographic knowledge. We have kept in touch ever
since, and it is nice to have this opportunity to recognise Alan’s outstanding contribution to
structural chemistry.
References
1. Burgi HB, Dunitz JD, Shefter E (1973) Geometrical reaction coordinates. II Nucleophilic
addition to a carbonyl group. J Am Chem Soc 95(15):5065–5067
2. Clegg W, Blake AJ, Cole JM, Evans JSO, Main P, Parsons S, Watkin DJ (2009) Crystal
structure analysis: principles and practice. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Incorporated
3. Weller MT, Mark TW (2017) Young NA, Nigel AY (eds) Characterisation methods in
inorganic chemistry. Oxford University Press, Oxford
4. Naumov P, Bharadwaj PK (2015) Single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations.
CrstEngComm 17(46):8775–8775
5. Chaudhary A, Mohammad A, Mobin SM (2017) Recent advances in single-crystal-to-singlecrystal transformation at the discrete molecular level. Cryst Growth Des 17(5):2893–2910
6. Bryant MJ, Skelton JM, Hatcher LE, Stubbs C, Madrid E, Pallipurath AR, Thomas LH,
Woodall CH, Christensen J, Fuertes S, Robinson TP, Beavers CM, Teat SJ, Warren MR,
Pradaux-Caggiano F, Walsh A, Marken F, Carbery DR, Parker SC, McKeown NB, Malpass264
P. R. Raithby
in photocrystallography over the next several decades is the use of X-ray freeelectron laser sources to carry out serial femtosecond studies [41]. The use of
XFELs to track chemical reactions by serial femtosecond pump-probe X-ray crystallography by rapidly recording diffraction patterns at closely spaced time intervals
has already proved successful in macromolecular crystallography [42, 43, 45]. Once
the scaling issues related to using multiple crystals in serial processes are resolved
and diffraction patterns better than atomic resolution [47] are obtained, the prospect
for carrying out molecular crystallography at an XFEL is extremely promising.
In the meantime, for the slower timescale processes (milliseconds to minutes),
detector development will facilitate the use of laboratory sources [26, 140], rather
than the need for synchrotrons. This will mean that many more “routine” timeresolved experiments can be carried out and there are thousands of systems which
would benefit from structural dynamic studies. Additionally, the monitoring of
dynamic processes using multiple techniques simultaneously, such as the combination of photocrystallography with emission spectroscopy or Raman spectroscopy,
will allow the detailed processes within the molecule as well as changes in the
crystalline environment to be monitored in exquisite detail.
Acknowledgements PRR gratefully acknowledges the support of the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EP/K004956) and the Diamond Light Source for the provision of
beamtime.
Dedication This chapter is dedicated to Professor Alan J. Welch of the Chemistry Department,
Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, on his retirement. Alan was completing his Ph.D. in
Chemical Crystallography in Mike Hursthouse’s research group at Queen Mary College, London,
when I joined the group to start mine. Alan guided me through the first year of my Ph.D., and I am
very grateful to him for passing on all his crystallographic knowledge. We have kept in touch ever
since, and it is nice to have this opportunity to recognise Alan’s outstanding contribution to
structural chemistry.
References
1. Burgi HB, Dunitz JD, Shefter E (1973) Geometrical reaction coordinates. II Nucleophilic
addition to a carbonyl group. J Am Chem Soc 95(15):5065–5067
2. Clegg W, Blake AJ, Cole JM, Evans JSO, Main P, Parsons S, Watkin DJ (2009) Crystal
structure analysis: principles and practice. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Incorporated
3. Weller MT, Mark TW (2017) Young NA, Nigel AY (eds) Characterisation methods in
inorganic chemistry. Oxford University Press, Oxford
4. Naumov P, Bharadwaj PK (2015) Single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations.
CrstEngComm 17(46):8775–8775
5. Chaudhary A, Mohammad A, Mobin SM (2017) Recent advances in single-crystal-to-singlecrystal transformation at the discrete molecular level. Cryst Growth Des 17(5):2893–2910
6. Bryant MJ, Skelton JM, Hatcher LE, Stubbs C, Madrid E, Pallipurath AR, Thomas LH,
Woodall CH, Christensen J, Fuertes S, Robinson TP, Beavers CM, Teat SJ, Warren MR,
Pradaux-Caggiano F, Walsh A, Marken F, Carbery DR, Parker SC, McKeown NB, Malpass264
P. R. Raithby