S,S-1,2-Dicyclohexylethane-1,2-diol and its racemic compound: a striking exception to Wallach's rule

The structures of enantiopure S,S-1,2-dicyclohexylethane-1,2-diol and its racemic compound (rac-S,S-1,2-dicyclohexylethane-1,2-diol) have been determined at 295 and 173 K. The crystals of the enantiopure material are more than 4% denser than the crystals of the racemic compound, but the melting points indicate that the crystals of the less dense racemic compound are considerably more stable than those of the racemic conglomerate. This apparent exception to the correlation of crystal density and melting point is explained. The enantiopure crystals have four molecules in the asymmetric unit (Z' = 4). Two of the molecules have the conformation observed for the one independent molecule of the racemic compound and two have a higher energy conformation; the overall P2(1) structure is a perturbed version of a P2(1)2(1)2(1) structure with Z' = 2. The enantiopure and racemic crystals have the same hydrogen-bonding motif, but the motif in the former appears to be significantly strained. A reason why crystals of enantiopure material might be systematically less dense than crystals of its racemic compound and to be more likely to have Z' > 1 is suggested.