“Higher density does not mean higher stability” mystery of paracetamol finally unraveled

Topological analysis of the experimental electron density distribution functions for two polymorphs of paracetamol showed that strong H-bonds are responsible for the higher stability of crystal phase I, weak interactions for the higher density of phase II. This made it possible to finally resolve the contradiction between the relative stabilities and the densities of the two paracetamol polymorphs.