Crystals (Jan 2022)

Ammonia Mono Hydrate IV: An Attempted Structure Solution

  • Bernhard Massani,
  • Ciprian G. Pruteanu,
  • Lewis J. Conway,
  • Victor N. Robinson,
  • Andreas Hermann,
  • John S. Loveday

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst12020135
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 2
p. 135

Abstract

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The mixed homonuclear and heteronuclear hydrogen bonds in ammonia hydrates have been of interest for several decades. In this manuscript, a neutron powder diffraction study is presented to investigate the structure of ammonia monohydrate IV at 170 K at an elevated pressure of 3–5 GPa. The most plausible structure that accounts for all features in the experimental pattern was found in the P21/c space group and has the lattice parameters a=5.487(3) Å, b=19.068(4) Å, c=5.989(3) Å, and β=99.537(16) deg. While the data quality limits discussion to a proton-ordered structure, the structure presented here sheds light on an important part of the ammonia–water phase diagram.

Keywords