Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Neutron Crystallography Data Collection and Processing for Modelling Hydrogen Atoms in Protein Structures
Published on: December 1, 2020
Structure and hydrogen bonding in 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid at 90, 100, 110 and 150 K; a theoretical and
Andrew Parkin1, Martin Adam, Richard I Cooper
1Department of Chemistry and WestCHEM Research School, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland.
Abstract:
A new polymorph of 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid is reported. The structure was characterized by multiple-temperature X-ray diffraction and solid-state DFT computations. The material shows a geometric pattern of hydrogen bonding consistent with cooperativity between the intermolecular carboxylic acid dimer and intramolecular hydrogen bonds. The presence of proton disorder within this hydrogen-bond system, which would support such a cooperative model, was not fully ruled out by the initial X-ray studies. However, solid-state calculations on the three possible end-point tautomers indicate that the dominant crystallographically observed configuration is substantially lower in energy than the other tautomers (by at least 9 kJ mol(-1)), indicating that no disorder should be expected. It is therefore concluded that no disorder is observed either in the intra- or intermolecular hydrogen bonds of the title compound and that the cooperativity between the hydrogen bonds is not present within the temperature range studied.
More Related Videos
06:35Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates
Published on: February 15, 2016
11:27Studying Soft-matter and Biological Systems over a Wide Length-scale from Nanometer and Micrometer Sizes at the Small-angle Neutron Diffractometer KWS-2
Published on: December 8, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Determination of Crystal Structures
Structure of Benzene: Molecular Orbital Model
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Structure of Benzene: Kekulé Model
He proposed that benzene has a cyclic structure of six carbon atoms attached to one hydrogen atom each, with three alternating pi bonds.
IR Spectrum Peak Broadening: Hydrogen Bonding
However, the extent of hydrogen bonding influences the observed stretching frequency and band broadening. Intermolecular or intramolecular hydrogen bonding...
Structures of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives
Carboxylic acid derivatives contain an acyl group attached to a heteroatom such as chlorine, oxygen, or nitrogen. The carbonyl carbon and oxygen are both sp2-hybridized with an unhybridized p orbital.
The three sp2 orbitals of the carbonyl carbon form three σ bonds, one each with the carbonyl oxygen, the α carbon, and the heteroatom, whereas the other two sp2 orbitals of the carbonyl oxygen are occupied by the lone pairs. Further, the unhybridized p...