The
deformation of molecular crystals and their mechanical properties
are of interest in materials science. Herein, the single crystals
of simple benzene derivatives with bromo, iodo, and methyl substituents
were prepared, and we examined the effect of the substituents on the
flexibility of crystals by single-crystal structural analysis, nanoindentation
test, and density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The crystals
of benzene derivatives can be classified into three types: crystals
that bend in one direction, crystals that bend in two directions,
and crystals that do not bend, depending on the member of the halogen
and methyl groups. In addition, DFT calculation also revealed the
isotropic and anisotropic mechanical properties of bendable crystals.