The crystal structure of potassium hydrogen bisglycollate

Abstract

The structure of potassium hydrogen bisglycollate, KH(C₂H₃O₃)₂, has been determined by three-dimensional X-ray crystal structure analysis. The monoclinic unit cell has a= 3·972, b= 17·68, c= 10·63 Å and β= 102° 4′. The space group is P2₁/c and Z= 4. Full-matrix least-squares refinement using 764 visually estimated reflections, has reached R= 0·089.

The structure determination has confirmed that potassium hydrogen bisglycollate is isostructural with the rubidium acid salt. The glycollate units are present in two forms: as glycollate anions and as glycollic acid molecules. These are joined together by hydrogen bonds and potassium ions to form a three-dimensional network. The potassium ion is nine-coordinated with K ⋯ O distances in the range 2·778–3·060 Å.