A conformational polymorphic transition in the high-temperature ∊-form of chlorpropamide on cooling: a new ∊′-form
Structural changes in the high-temperature ∊-polymorph of chlorpropamide, 4-chloro-N-(propylaminocarbonyl)benzenesulfonamide, C10H13ClN2O3S, on cooling down to 100 K and on reverse heating were followed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. At temperatures below 200 K the phase transition into a new polymorph (termed the ∊′-form) has been observed for the first time. The polymorphic transition preserves the space group Pna21, is reversible and is accompanied by discontinuous changes in the cell volume and parameters, resulting from changes in molecular conformation. As shown by IR spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction, the phase transition in a powder sample is inhomogeneous throughout the bulk, and the two phases co-exist in a wide temperature range. The cell parameters and the molecular conformation in the new polymorph are close to those in the previously known α-polymorph, but the packing of the z-shaped molecular ribbons linked by hydrogen bonds inherits that of the ∊-form and is different from the packing in the α-polymorph. A structural study of the α-polymorph in the same temperature range has revealed no phase transitions.