Sodium thallide

The structure of sodium thallide NaTl can be understood as a diamond-like framework of T1 atoms, whose vacant sites are completely filled with Na atoms. Figure 13.7.2(a) shows the structure of NaTl, in which the Tl-Tl covalent bonds are represented by solid lines. The T1 atom has three valence electrons, which are insufficient for the construction of a stable diamond framework. The deficit can be partially compensated by the introduction of Na atoms. The effective radius of the Na atom is considerably smaller than that in pure metallic sodium. 

The second structure common to a number of T1-B1 systems is that of sodium thallide, sometimes called the Zintlphase. This structure (fig. 13.12) is closely related to that of caesium chloride in that the pattern of sites occupied forms a cubic body-centred lattice. The distribution of the atoms, however, is such that each atom has four neighbours of each kind, and the true cell is therefore the larger unit shown, containing sixteen instead of only two atoms. Some phases in which the sodium thallide structure occurs are LiZn, LiCd, LiAl, LiGa, Liln, Naln and NaTl. It is a characteristic feature of all of these phases that in them the alkali metal atom appears to have a radius considerably smaller than in the structure of the element (even when allowance is made for the change in co-ordination number), suggesting that this atom is present in a partially ionized condition and that forces other than purely metallic bonds are operative in the structure. 

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