A model for a lipid membrane stabilized by C-H center dot center dot center dot X bonds: The crystal structure of the paraffinic ylide trimethylammonio n-hexadecylsulfonamidate CH3(CH2)(15)SO2N(-)N(+)Me-3

The crystal structure of trimethylammonio n-hexadecylsulfonamidate contains antiparallel monolayers stabilized by strong C-(HO)-O-… bonds ((CO)-O-… 3.22 Angstrom). There are also significant C-(HX)-X-… (X = N, O) bonds linking adjacent layers. The structure suggests that nitrogen ylides have potential as amphoteric surfactants. The crystallography of paraffinic monolayers is discussed and the crystal structures of n-C16H33X compounds are shown to belong to three distinct types.