Case of Charge-Assisted Hydrogen Bonding in the Crystal Structure of Sodium Laurate, Lauric Acid

Crystals of Sodium Laurate, Lauric Acid (NaLLA) were obtained and the structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The new crystal form is monoclinic of space group P2₁/c. The asymmetric unit contains two independent laurate molecules whose carboxylic/carboxylate groups are linked by a low barrier O-H…O hydrogen bond. Two lauric/laurate molecules are in a head-to-head configuration and the elongated hydrophobic chains are parallel to the long b axis. The carboxylic hydrogen atom was found to be disordered, bound on each of the two carboxylate groups in an unsymmetrical way. The non-symmetrical character of the hydrogen bond is related to the presence of two independent fatty acid molecules in the asymmetric unit and is in accordance with the different lengths of the four C-O bonds present in the molecular structure. The crystal structure was analyzed in terms of interactions on the Hirshfeld surface. The packing is stabilized by hydrogen bonds and O…Na ionic interactions in the hydrophilic layer and by C-H…H-C contacts in the hydrophobic layers which are the most enriched major contacts.