Investigation into structure and dehydration dynamic of gallic acid monohydrate: A Raman spectroscopic study

The dehydration process of gallic acid monohydrate was carried out by heating method and characterized using Raman spectroscopic technique. Density functional theory calculation with B3LYP function is applied to simulate optimized structures and vibrational frequencies of anhydrous gallic acid and its corresponding monohydrated form. Different vibrational modes are assigned by comparison between experimental and theoretical Raman spectra of above two polymorphs. Raman spectra show that vibrational modes of the monohydrate are distinctively different from those of anhydrous one. Meanwhile, the dynamic information about dehydration process of gallic acid monohydrate could also be observed and monitored directly with the help of Raman spectral analysis. The decay rate of the characteristic band from gallic acid monohydrate and the growth rate of anhydrous one are pretty consistent with each other. It indicates that there is no intermediate present during the dehydration process of gallic acid monohydrate. The results could offer us benchmark works for identifying both anhydrous and hydrated pharmaceutical compounds, characterizing their corresponding molecular conformation within various crystalline forms, and also providing useful information about the process of dehydration dynamic at the microscopic molecular level.