Overview of Low-Temperature Heat Capacity Data for Zn2(C8H4O4)2.C6H12N2 and the Salam Hypothesis

Abstract

The review presents the progress in the analysis of low-temperature heat capacity of the metal-organic framework Zn2(C8H4O4)2.C6H12N2 (Zn-DMOF). In Zn-DMOF, left-twisted D3(S) and right-twisted D3(R) DABCO molecules (C6H12N2) can transform into each other by tunneling to form a racemate. Termination of tunneling leads to a phase transition in the subsystem of twisted molecules. It is suggested that Zn-DMOF may be considered a model system to study the mechanisms of phase transitions belonging to the same type as hypothetical Salam phase transitions.