Molecular structure of di­ethylaminoalane in the solid state: an X-ray powder diffraction, DFT calculation and Raman spectroscopy study

The crystal structure of diethylaminoalane, [H₂Al—N(C₂H₅)₂]₂, was determined by X-ray powder diffraction in conjunction with DFT calculations. Diethyl­aminoalane crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c with a = 7.4020 (2), b = 12.9663 (3), c = 7.2878 (2) Å and β = 90.660 (2)° at 293 K. The crystal structure was confirmed by DFT calculations and Raman spectroscopy. The molecular structure of diethylaminoalane consists of dimers of [H₂Al—N(CH₂CH₃)₂] in which an Al₂N₂ four-membered ring is formed by a center of inversion. Such an arrangement of the aminoalane moieties in the crystal structure is well known for this class of compound, as shown by the comparison with ethylmethyl­aminoalane and diisopropylaminoalane