Competing hydrogen-bonding patterns and phase transitions of 1,2-diaminoethane at varied temperature and pressure

Abstract

1,2-Diaminoethane has been in-situ pressure- and temperature-frozen; apart from two known low-temperature phases, Iα and II, three new phases, Iβ, Iγ and III, have been observed and their structures determined by X-ray diffraction. The measurements at 0.1 MPa were carried out at 274, 243 and 224 K, and 296 K measurements were made at 0.15 GPa (phase Iα), at 0.3 and 1.1 GPa (phase Iβ), at 1.5 GPa (phase Iγ), and at 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 GPa (phase III). All these phases are monoclinic, space group P21/c, but the unit-cell dimension of phases Iα and III are very different at 296 K: a Iα = 5.078 (5), b Iα = 7.204 (8), c Iα = 5.528 (20) Å, β Iα = 115.2 (2)° at 0.15 GPa, and a III = 5.10 (3), b III = 5.212 (2), c III = 7.262 (12) Å, β III = 111.6 (4)° at 0.2 GPa, respectively; in both phases Z = 2. An ambient-pressure low-temperature phase II has been observed below 189 K. Discontinuities in the unit-cell dimensions and in the N...N distance mark the isostructural transition between phases Iα and Iβ at 0.2 GPa, which can be attributed to a damping process of the NH2 group rotations. In phase Iγ the unit-cell parameter a doubles and Z increases to 4. The molecule has inversion symmetry in all the structures determined. 1,2-Diaminoethane can be considered as a simple structural ice analogue, but with NH...N hydrogen bonds and with the H-atom donors (four in one molecule) in excess over H-atom acceptors (two per molecule). Thus, the transformations of 1,2-diaminoethane phases involving the conformational dynamics affect the hydrogen-bonding geometry and molecular association in the crystal. The 1,2-diaminoethane:1,2-dihydroxyethane mixture has been separated by pressure-freezing, and a solid 1,2-diaminoethane crystal in liquid 1,2-dihyroxyethane has been obtained.