L-Argininium phosphite – a new candidate for NLO materials

Abstract

In order to investigate the possibility of salt formation in the L-Arg–H3PO3–H2O system, single crystals of L-argininium phosphite, C6H15N4O2+·H2PO3−, were prepared by evaporation of an aqueous solution containing equimolar quantities of L-arginine and phosphorous acid. The asymmetric unit contains one L-argininium(+) cation and one phosphite [HPO2(OH)]−anion. The phosphite anions form chains parallel to [010] by O—H...O hydrogen bonding, with an O...O distance of 2.630 (3) Å. The protonated amine and guanidyl groups of the L-argininium(+) cations form N—H...O hydrogen bonds with the carboxylate groups and anions. The IR and Raman spectra are discussed in relation to the crystal structure. The salt displays nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. Another salt was obtained from a solution with a 1:2 molar ratio of components, but was characterized by vibrational spectra only.