Crystal Structures of a Series of Novel Alkylammonium Phosphates and Their Formation in Aluminophosphate Synthesis Mixtures

The crystal structures of several novel alkylammonium phosphate salts were determined by single-crystal X-ray methods:  cyclopentylammonium monohydrogen phosphate (CMP) ([C₅H₉NH₃⁺]₂[HPO₄^2-], monoclinic, space group P2₁/n, Z = 4, a = 14.197(3) Å, b = 5.992(1) Å, c = 16.580(3) Å, β = 98.57(2)°); octylammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ODP) ([CH₃(CH₂)₇NH₃⁺][H₂PO₄^-], monoclinic, space group P2₁/c, Z = 4, a = 4.554(1) Å, b = 34.652(3) Å, c = 7.328(1) Å, β = 90.66(1)°); and decylammonium dihydrogen phosphate (DDP) ([CH₃(CH₂)₉NH₃⁺][H₂PO₄^-], monoclinic, space group P2₁/n, Z = 4, a = 7.358(2) Å, b = 39.749(12) Å, c = 9.131(4) Å, β = 90.45(2)°). Each are composed of anionic layers of hydrogen-bonded phosphate molecules, separated by charge-balancing alkylammonium cations. The long-chain alkylammoniums in ODP and DDP are interdigitated, while the cyclopentylammoniums in CMP define a bilayer-like arrangement. Large crystals were grown by recrystallization, but the materials were also observed to form in the corresponding solvothermal aluminophosphate synthesis mixtures. We have isolated phosphate salt compounds in aluminophosphate synthesis mixtures containing a variety of different alkylamines and suggest they are initially present in such experiments whenever the alkylamine is primary or secondary.