Preservation and loss of structural features of solid acetic acid during the melting process

The structure of solid acetic acid is described in a schematic form using data reported in the literature. X-ray and neutron seattering measurements on liquid acetic acid are performed to yield weighted sums of atomic pair correlation functions. Comparison of the respective experimental data shows that the H-bond atomic separations are preserved during melting, however, that a new preferred intermolecular distance of 2.1 Å appears in the liquid.