Crystal structure of N-(2,2,2-tri­chloro-1-hy­droxy­eth­yl)formamide

The title compound, C(3)H(4)Cl(3)NO(2), crystallized with two independent mol­ecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit. The two mol­ecules have the same conformation; the mol­ecular overlap gives weighted and unit-weight r.m.s. fits of 0.047 and 0.043 Å, respectively. The conformation of the N-(hydroxeth­yl)formamide chains are very similar, as indicated by the C—N(H)—C=O and C—N(H)—C—O(H) torsion angles, which are, respectively, −1.8 (3) and −91.5 (2)° for mol­ecule A, and −2.1 (3) and −95.7 (2)° for mol­ecule B. In the crystal, individual mol­ecules are linked by pairs of O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming A–A and B–B inversion dimers with R (2) (2)(12) ring motifs. The dimers are linked via N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming alternating layers of A and B mol­ecules parallel to the bc plane. Within the layers of B mol­ecules, there are weak C—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds present.