Metals interatomic distances

In fact, geometric and electronic properties influence on the catalytic activity. These tables show that the n-type solids are the most active and that the interatomic distance, metal-oxygen 2 A, and the electronegativity 2.0 eV adjust better the activity results ... 

Bismuthides. Many intermetaUic compounds of bismuth with alkafl metals and alkaline earth metals have the expected formulas M Bi and M Bi, respectively. These compounds ate not saltlike but have high coordination numbers, interatomic distances similar to those found in metals, and metallic electrical conductivities. They dissolve to some extent in molten salts (eg, NaCl—Nal) to form solutions that have been interpreted from cryoscopic data as containing some Bi . Both the alkafl and alkaline earth metals form another series of alloylike bismuth compounds that become superconducting at low temperatures (Table 1). The MBi compounds are particularly noteworthy as having extremely short bond distances between the alkafl metal atoms. 

The Fourier transform of the EXAFS of Figure 5 is shown in Figure 6 as the solid curve It has two large peaks at 2.38 and 2.78 A as well as two small ones at 4.04 and 4.77 A. In this example, each peak is due to Mo—Mo backscattering. The peak positions are in excellent correspondence with the crystallographically determined radial distribution for molybdenum metal foil (bcc)— with Mo—Mo interatomic distances of2.725, 3.147, 4.450, and 5.218 A, respectively. The Fourier transform peaks are phase shifted by -0.39 A from the true distances. 

The closest M-M approach in these compounds is often less than for the metal itself this should occasion no surprise since this is a common feature of many compounds in which there is substantial separation of charge. For example, the shortest Ca-Ca interatomic distance is 393 pm in calcium metal, 360 pm in CaH2, 380 pm in CaF2, and only 340 pm in CaO (why ). 

In order to perform the calculation., of the conductivity shown here we first performed a calculation of the electronic structure of the material using first-principles techniques. The problem of many electrons interacting with each other was treated in a mean field approximation using the Local Spin Density Approximation (LSDA) which has been shown to be quite accurate for determining electronic densities and interatomic distances and forces. It is also known to reliably describe the magnetic structure of transition metal systems. 

The structure of LiTa02F2, as reported by Vlasse et al. [218], is similar to a ReC>3 type structure and consists of triple layers of octahedrons linked together through their vertexes. The layers are perpendicular to the c axis, and each layer is shifted, relative to the layer below, by half a cell in the direction (110). Lithium atoms are situated in the centers of the tetragonal pyramids (coordination number = 5). The other lithium atoms are statistically distributed along with tantalum atoms (coordination number = 6) at a ratio of 1 3. The sequence of the metal atoms in alternating layers is (Ta-Li) - Ta - (Ta-Li). Positions of oxygen and fluorine atoms were not determined. The main interatomic distances are (in A) Ta-(0, F) - 1.845-2.114 Li-(0, F) - 2.087-2.048 (O, F)-(0,F) - 2.717-2.844. 

The size of an atom is defined in terms of the interatomic distances that are found in solids and in gaseous molecules containing that atom. For an atom on the left side of the periodic table, gaseous molecules are obtained only at very high temperatures. At normal temperatures, solids are found and there are two important types to consider, metallic solids and ionic solids. Table 21-11 shows the nearest neighbor distances in the... 

Linus Pauling, Atomic Radii and Interatomic Distances in Metals, J. Am. Chem. 

We have constructed a number of sets of atomic radii for use in compounds containing covalent bonds. These radii have been obtained from the study of observed interatomic distances. They are not necessarily applicable only to crystals containing pure covalent bonds (it is indeed probable that very few crystals of this type exist) but also to crystals and molecules in which the bonds approach the covalent type more closely than the ionic or metallic type. The crystals considered to belong to this class are tetrahedral crystals, pyrite and marcasite-type crystals, and others which have been found on application of the various criteria discussed in the preceding section to contain covalent bonds or bonds which approach this extreme. 

In other crystals an octahedral metal atom is attached to six non-metal atoms, each of which forms one, two, or three, rather than four, bonds with other atoms. The interatomic distance in such a crystal should be equal to the sum of the octahedral radius of the metal atom and the normal-valence radius (Table VI) of the non-metal atom. This is found to be true for many crystals with the potassium chlorostannate (H 61) and cadmium iodide (C 6) structures (Table XIB). Data are included in Table XIC for crystals in which a tetrahedral atom is bonded to a non-metal atom with two or three covalent bonds. The values of dcalc are obtained by adding the tetrahedral radius for the former to the normal-valence radius for the latter atom. 

Trigonal-Prism Radii. In molybdenite and the corresponding tungsten sulfide the metal atom is surrounded by six sulfur atoms at the corners of a right trigonal prism of axial ratio unity, the bond orbitals involved being those discussed in an earlier section. Prom the observed interatomic distances the values 1.37 and 1.44 A are calculated for Mo and IPIV in such crystals (Table XV). 

Other Covalent Radii. In Cu20 and Ag20 each metal atom is equidistant from two nearest oxygen atoms, the interatomic distances corresponding to the radius values 1.18 and 1.39 A for Cu1 and Agl with coordination number two. In KAg(GN)2, in which each silver atom is similarly attached to two cyanide groups1), the effective radius of Agl is 1.36 A. It has been pointed out to us by Dr. Hoard that the work of Braekken2) indicates the presence of strings —Ag—G=N—Ag—G... 

Radii for metal atoms forming only one bond can be found from the interatomic distances obtained from band spectra of molecules such as Ag1, etc. The available data for the silver halides lead to a radius of about 1.12 A for Ag1. The change of radius with change in number of bonds is strikingly shown by silver, with radius 1.53 A for four bonds, 1.36 A for two, and 1.12 A for one. 

This qualitative description of the interactions in the metal is compatible with quantum mechanical treatments which have been given the problem,6 and it leads to an understanding of such properties as the ratio of about 1.5 of crystal energy of alkali metals to bond energy of their diatomic molecules (the increase being the contribution of the resonance energy), and the increase in interatomic distance by about 15 percent from the diatomic molecule to the crystal. 

In the discussion of metallic radii we may make a choice between two immediate alternative procedures. The first, which I shall adopt, is to consider the dependence of the radius on the type of the bond, defined as the number (which may be fractional) of shared electron pairs involved (corresponding to the single, double, and triple bonds in ordinary covalent molecules and crystals), and then to consider separately the effect of resonance in stabilizing the crystal and decreasing the interatomic distance. This procedure is similar to that which we have used in the discussion of interatomic distances in resonating molecules.7 The alternative procedure would be to assign to each bond a number, the bond order, to represent the strength of the bond with inclusion of the resonance effect as well as of the bond type.8... 

The indication from interatomic distances that less than 4 bonding electrons per atom are operating in white tin has been recognized by W. Hume-Rothery, The Structure of Metals and Alloys/ The Institute of Metals Monograph and Report Series No. 1, p. 26... 

---