Crystal and molecular structure of sarcosine hydrochloride

Abstract

Sarcosine hydrochloride (C₃H₈NO₂ ⁺·C1⁻) crystallizes in the monoclinic space groupP2₁ with two molecules per unit cell of dimensionsa = 9.00,b = 5.93,c = 5.41 Å, and β = 96.0 °. The structure has been solved by the heavy-atom method, using intensities estimated visually from X-ray photographs. The structure has been refined by full-matrix least squares, the finalR value being 0.10. The sarcosine molecule does not occur in zwitterion form. The molecules are planar and maximally extended, and are held together by a network of hydrogen bonds of the types N-H⋯Cl⁻ and O-H⋯Cl⁻, and by van der Waals' forces. The amino nitrogen forms two hydrogen bonds with two chloride ions and assumes a tetrahedral configuration.