Crystal structure of anhydrous δ-D-mannitol

The crystal structure of anhydrous delta-D-mannitol (C6H14O6) was solved from high-resolution synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data collected on a mixture containing 20% and 80% w/w of beta- and delta-D-mannitol, respectively. The direct space simulated annealing program PSSP, and Rietveld analysis employing GSAS were used to determine and refine the structure. The polymorph has monoclinic symmetry, space group P2(1) with a = 5.089 41(5) Angstrom, b = 18.2504(2) Angstrom, c = 4.917 02(5) Angstrom, and beta = 118.303(2)degrees. There is one molecule in the irreducible volume of the unit cell. The pattern of hydrogen bonding is significantly different than the previously known a and 8 forms. (C) 2003 International Centre for Diffraction Data.