Synthesis, crystal structure, and hydrogen-bonded displacive-type structural phase transition of guanidine dichloroacetate

Guanidine dichloroacetate was synthesized and separated as crystals. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurement shows that this compound undergoes a reversible phase transition at about 275 K with a heat hysteresis of 28 K. Step-like dielectric anomaly observed at 274 K further confirms the phase transition. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction data suggested that these was a transition from a room-temperature phase with the space group of P 2 1 / n ( a = 8.030(5), b = 12.014(9), c = 8.124(6) Å, β = 96.089(1)°, V = 779.3(1) Å 3 , and Z = 4) to a low-temperature one with the space group of P 2 1 / c ( a = 7.941(2), b = 11.828(3), c = 10.614(2) Å, β = 130.985(1)°, V = 752.6(3) Å 3 , and Z = 4). The displacements of hydrogen bonds induce the structure phase transition.