The Crystal Structure of Disodium Phosphonate, Na₂HPO₃

Abstract

Anhydrous disodium phosphonate, Na 2 HPO 3 , was prepared by dehydration of its pentahydrate. The crystal structure of Na 2 HPO 3 was solved from high resolution X-ray powder diffraction data (P2 1 /n; Z ϭ 4; a ϭ 9.6987(1), b ϭ 6.9795(1), c ϭ 5.0561(1) Å , β ϭ 92.37(1)°; V ϭ 341.97(1) Å 3 ). The crystal structure consists of two types of sodium-oxygen polyhedra, which are connected via common edges and vertices forming layers perpendi-