Crystal structure of a complex of glycine with zinc chloride

Abstract

Tris-glycine zinc chloride, a complex of glycine with ZnCl₂, crystallises in an orthorhombic unit cell of dimensions a=11.230(2)Å b=15.251(3)Å c=15.564(4)Å in the space group Pbn2₁ with Z=8. The structure has been determined using diffractometer data (2345 MoKα reflections) to a final R value of 0.034. All the six glycine molecules in an asymmetric unit exist as zwitterions, NH₃⁺CH₂COO^- and are held together by a network of N—H···O and N—H···Cl type of hydrogen bonds. Each of the two zinc atoms is coordinated to two oxygen atoms and two chlorine atoms, forming a distorted tetrahedron.