Redetermination of the solvent-free crystal structure of l-proline

The title compound, (S)-pyrrolidine-2-carb-oxy-lic acid (C₅H₉NO₂), commonly known as l-proline, crystallized without the inclusion of any solvent or water mol-ecules through the slow diffusion of diethyl ether into a saturated solution of l-proline in ethanol. l-Proline crystallized in its zwitterionic form and the mol-ecules are linked via N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, resulting in a two-dimensional network. In comparison to the only other publication of a single-crystal structure of l-proline without inclusions [Kayushina & Vainshtein (1965 ▸). Kristallografiya, 10, 833-844], the R₁ value is significantly improved (0.039 versus 0.169) and thus, our data provides higher precision structural information.