Effect of pressure on crystalline L- and DL-serine: revisited by a combined single-crystal X-ray diffraction at a laboratory source and polarized Raman spectroscopy study

Abstract

Information on the effect of pressure on hydrogen bonds, which could be derived from single-crystal X-ray diffraction at a laboratory source and polarized Raman spectroscopy, has been compared. L-Serine and DL-serine were selected for this case study. The role of hydrogen bonds in pressure-induced phase transitions in the first system and in the structural stability of the second one are discussed. Non-monotonic distortion of selected hydrogen bonds in the pressure range below ∼ 1–2 GPa, a change in the compression mechanism at ∼ 2–3 GPa, and the evidence of formation of bifurcated N—H...O hydrogen bonds in DL-serine at ∼ 3–4 GPa are considered.