2‐(4‐Hydroxy­phenyl)‐4,4‐dimethyl‐2‐oxazoline: X‐ray and density functional theory study

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C₁₁H₁₃NO₂, there are strong inter­molecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds which, together with weak intra­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, lead to the formation of infinite chains of mol­ecules, held together by weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. A theoretical investigation of the hydrogen bonding, based on density functional theory (DFT) employing periodic boundary conditions, is in agreement with the experimental data. The cluster approach shows that the influence of the crystal field and of hydrogen‐bond formation are responsible for the deformation of the 2‐oxazoline ring, which is not planar and adopts a ⁴T₃ (^C3T_C2) conformation.