Reply to comment on Couzi et al. (2018): a phenomenological model for structural phase transitions in incommensurate alkane/urea inclusion compounds

In a recent paper (Couzi et al. 2018 R. Soc. open sci. 5, 180058. (doi: 10.1098/rsos.180058)), we proposed a new phenomenological model to account for the I II "III" phase sequence in incommensurate n-alkane/urea inclusion compounds, which represents an alternative interpretation to that proposed in work of Toudic et al. In a Comment (Toudic et al. 2019 R. Soc. open sci. 6, 182073. (doi: 10.1098/rsos. 182073)), Toudic et al. have questioned our assignment of the superspace group of phase II of n-nonadecane/urea, which they have previously assigned, based on a (3 + 2)-dimensional superspace, as C222(1)(00 gamma)(10 delta). In this Reply, we present new results from a comprehensive synchrotron single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of n-nonadecane/urea, involving measurements as a detailed function of temperature across the I II "III" phase transition sequence. Our results demonstrate conclusively that "main reflections" (h, k, l, 0) with h+k odd are observed in phase II of n-nonadecane/urea (including temperatures in phase II that are just below the transition from phase I to phase II), in full support of our assignment of the (3+ 1)-dimensional superspace group P212121(00.) to phase II. As our phenomenological model is based on phase II and phase '' III '' of this incommensurate material having the same (3+ 1)-dimensional superspace group P2(1)2(1)2(1)(00 gamma), it follows that the new X-ray diffraction results are in full support of our phenomenological model.