Crystal structure and in situ investigation of a mechanochemical synthesized 3D zinc N-(phosphonomethyl)glycinate

The mechanochemical synthesis of the zinc N-(phosphonomethyl)glycinate Zn(O3PCH2NH2CH2CO2)·H2O (1) is presented. The structure was solved from powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) data. In the three-dimensional pillared structure, the Zn atoms are coordinated tetrahedrally. In situ investigations of the reaction process with synchrotron PXRD and Raman spectroscopy reveal a two-step process including the formation of an intermediate.