Structural polymorphism of pyrazinium hydrogen sulfate: extending chemistry of the pyrazinium salts with small anions

Two polymorphs (α, β) of pyrazinium hydrogen sulfate (pyzH+HSO_4^-, abbreviated as PHS) with distinctly different hydrogen-bond types and topologies but close electronic energies have been synthesized and characterized for the first time. The α-polymorph (P212121) forms distinct blocks in which the pyzH+and HSO_4^- ions are interconnected through a network of NH...O and OH...O hydrogen bonds. The β-form (P\bar 1) consists of infinite chains of alternating pyzH+and HSO_4^- ions connected by NH...O and OH...N hydrogen bonds. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate the possible existence of a hypothetical polarP1 form of the β-polymorph with an unusually high dipole moment.