Crystallographic rationalization of the reactivity and spectroscopic properties of (2R)‐S‐(2,5‐dihydroxyphenyl)cysteine

At 150 K, the title compound, C₉H₁₁NO₄S, crystallizes in the orthorhombic form as a zwitterion and has a low gauche conformation χ = −46.23 (16)°] for an acyclic cysteine derivative. A difference in bond length is observed for the alkyl C—S bond 1.8299 (15) Å] and the aryl C—S bond 1.7760 (15) Å]. The –NH₃⁺ group is involved in four hydrogen bonds, two of which are intermolecular and two intramolecular. The compound forms an infinite three‐dimensional network constructed from four intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Characterization data (¹³C NMR, IR and optical rotation) are reported to supplement the incomplete data disclosed previously in the literature.