1,8-Bis(hydroxymethyl)anthracene

Anthracene-1,8-dimethanol, C₁₆H₁₄O₂, crystallized in the centrosymmetric space group P2₁/n. The anthracene core is nearly planar and shows good agreement with the anthracene core of anthracene-1,8-dicarboxylic acid. The geometric disposition of the hydroxymethyl groups and the values of the hydrogen-bond parameters are strikingly similar to those in the naphthalene analog. As in that structure, each hydroxyl group participates both as a donor and acceptor in an infinite zigzag chain of hydrogen bonds which propagates along the [010] direction. Moreover, the disposition of the entire molecule in the cell of the present compound is also strikingly similar to that of the naphthalene analog in its cell.

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