The crystal structure of sodium pyruvate

The detailed structure has been determined by two-dimensional Fourier syntheses, and refined by the method of least-squares. The plane containing the methyl carbon, the keto group and the carbon of the carboxylic group makes an angle of 18.1 ° with the plane of the C-COO group. This suggests that there is no appreciable degree of conjugation across the central C-C bond, a fact tha t is confirmed by the observed central C-C bond length, 1.579 +0.045 A, which is close to the standard single C-C bond length. Strong Na~-O bonds tie the molecules into infinite layers parallel to the (100) planes. Any one layer of molecules is linked with the neighbouring layers by strong Na-O bonds on one side and van der Waals bonds on the other.