The hydrogen bonding in the crystal structure of raffinose pentahydrate

The crystal structure of raffinose pentahydrate, O-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl-(1----6)-O-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl-(1----2)- beta-D- fructofuranose pentahydrate, C18H32O16.5H2O, has been redetermined using low-temperature, 119 K, CuK alpha X-ray data. All hydrogen atoms were unambiguously located on difference syntheses. The final R-factor is 0.036 for 2423 observed structure amplitudes. The hydrogen bonding is composed of infinite chains, which are linked through the water molecules to form a three-dimensional network containing a chain of five linked water molecules. Three of the infinite chains extend in the directions of the crystallographic axis of the space group P2(1)2(1)2(1). Four of the water molecules accept two hydrogen bonds and one accepts one. All the hydroxyls and the ring and glycosidic oxygen atoms are involved in the hydrogen bonding. With one exception, the ring and glycosidic oxygens are hydrogen-bonded by means of the minor components of unsymmetrical three-center bonds.