Structure of melaminium dihydrogenpyrophosphate and its formation from melaminium dihydrogenphosphate studied with powder diffraction data, solid-state NMR, and theoretical calculations

Melaminium dihydrogenpyrophosphate (bis(2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-triazinium dihydrogenpyrophosphate, MPy), obtained as a crystalline powder by thermal treatment of melaminium dihydrogenphosphate (MP), is the first intermediate in the synthesis of polymerized melamine phosphates that are used as environmental-friendly flame retardants. The crystal structure of MPy was determined by X-ray powder diffraction and the proposed hydrogen-bonding model was corroborated by solid-state NMR and periodic DFT calculations. A mechanism is proposed for the endothermic dehydration process that takes place in the reaction from MP to MPy, in accordance with energy calculations based on the optimized crystal structures of MPy and MP. A packing analysis of MPy and other melamine-containing compounds revealed some typical melamine packing motifs.