Hydrogen‐bonded network in biphenyl‐4,4′‐diphosphonic acid

The crystal structure of the title compound, C₁₂H₁₂O₆P₂, displays two different regions alternating along the a axis: a hydrogen‐bonded region encompassing the end‐positioned phosphonic acid groups and a hydrophobic region formed by the aromatic spacers. The asymmetric unit contains only half of the biphenyl‐4,4′‐diphosphonic acid (4,4′‐bpdp) molecule, which is symmetric with an inversion centre imposed at the mid‐point between the two aromatic rings. The periodic organization of the molecules is controlled by two strong O—H...O interactions between the phosphonic acid sites. Weak C—H...π interactions are established in the aromatic regions.