Structure of lithium benzilate hemihydrate solved by simulated annealing and difference Fourier synthesis from powder data.

The crystal structure of lithium benzilate hemihydrate (C(14)H(11)O(3)(-)Li(+).0.5H(2)O) was solved from synchrotron powder diffraction data. This compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/a. The structure was solved via the direct space search for two benzilate fragments using the simulated-annealing program DASH, localization of the lithium ions and water molecule from a difference Fourier map, and a restrained Rietveld refinement (R(wp) = 0.0687). The structure is a coordination polymer of [Li(2)(C(14)H(11)O(3))(2).H(2)O](2) tetramers building helical fourfold one-dimensional channels parallel to [010]. Inside the channels the tetrahedral coordination spheres of the lithium ions contain hydroxyl and carbonyl groups, and water molecules. The water molecule functions as the cohesive entity forming extended hydrogen-bonded chains running along [010], and bifurcated donor hydrogen bonds with the two nearest carboxylates. At the outer edge of the channels, weaker intermolecular C-H.Ph hydrogen bonds along [100] and [001] contribute to the supramolecular aggregation of the structure.