Structure determination of L-arabinitol by powder X-ray diffraction

The crystal structure of L-arabinitol at room temperature was solved from its powder X-ray diffraction pattern. The starting structural model was found by the simulated annealing method. The structure was obtained through Rietveld refinements with soft restraints on the interatomic bond lengths and bond angles. The H atoms of hydroxyl groups were localized by a minimization of the crystalline energy.