Crystal structure of 1,5-diamino-1H-tetrazolium 4-methylbenzenesulfonate hemihydrate

CHED 1158

Christina Montfort, cmontfort2@washcoll.edu1, Anne E. Marteel-Parrish, amarteel2@washcoll.edu1, Damon A. Parrish2, Jeffrey Bottaro3, and Mark Petrie3. (1) Department of Chemistry, Washington College, 300 Washington College, Chestertown, MD 21620, (2) Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Avenue, Washington, DC 20375, (3) SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025
X-ray crystallography uses the diffraction pattern of crystals to determine their molecular structures. When a crystal is irradiated with X-rays, and the crystal is of suitable size and quality, positive interference of diffracted X-rays may occur. This wave interference of diffracted photons causes a pattern of reflections with varying intensities. The location and intensities of these reflections are determined by the chemical makeup of the crystal. In this research, a compound expected to be 1-nitroimide-4,5-amine tetrazolium used in the generation of energetic ionic liquid salts was to be verified. However, the solved structure was not the expected one. In fact, there was also 4-methylbenzenesulfonic acid present, a result of starting material which did not completely react. This unexpected result let the synthetic chemists know that there was a problem in the synthetic procedure, allowing them to refine their processes and achieve their ultimate goals. Details about this project will be presented.
 

Undergraduate Research Poster Session: Inorganic Chemistry
2:00 PM-4:00 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Hall A, Poster

Division of Chemical Education

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008