Crystal structure redetermination of the d , l -glyceraldehyde dimer: A comparison of synchrotron and conventional X-ray diffraction data

The structure of d , l -glyceraldehyde has been redetermined by means of synchrotron and conventional X-radiation. At 295 K lattice parameters in monoclinic space group P 2 1 / n are: a = 6.403(2) Å, b = 6.961(2) Å, c = 8.830(3) Å, β = 105.00(2)°, V = 380.12 Å 3 , Z = 2. Three independent data sets of crystals with crystal volumes of 0.00009 and 0.02 mm 3 are compared. As a main advantage of the synchrotron experiment it was found that its results obtained with the small crystal are of similar precision compared to those based on the larger crystal measured with a conventional tube.