Noncovalent interactions in N-methylurea crystalline hydrates

Abstract

Urea and its derivatives play a significant role in modern organic chemistry and find application in various fields. This study presents the results of investigations of N-methylurea crystalline hydrates. Initial N-methylurea and its crystalline hydrates have been examined by FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. It has been found that the incorporation of water molecules into N-methylurea crystals leads to a shift of intensity peaks in both the FTIR spectra and X-ray diffraction patterns. Methylurea crystalline hydrates in the gaseous phase have been additionally explored within the density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level and the theory of atoms in molecules. The nature of water and methylurea molecular interactions via hydrogen bonds have been studied using the electron localization function and noncovalent reduced density gradient. The thermodynamic and nonlinear optical properties of methylurea crystalline hydrate have been determined. The atoms in molecules, electron localization functions, and localized orbital locator topological analyses have been carried out to elucidate the nature of hydrogen bonds in methylurea crystalline hydrates.