Crystal engineering

The term crystal engineering was coined by G. M. J. Schmidt in the 1970s in relation to prediction of crystal structure in the context of solid-state photochemical reactions of cinnamic acids. A broader definition was given by G. R. Desiraju in 1989: the design of solids with desired physical and chemical properties on the basis of an understanding of the intermolecular interactions in the crystal lattice. Crystal engineering is now a fast-expanding interdisciplinary field that is well-established in basic research laboratories and has promising industrial applications.