The structure of molten barium chloride

Abstract

The structure of molten BaCl2 has been investigated by applying the technique of neutron diffraction to isotopically enriched samples. The three partial factors relating to Ba-Ba, Cl-Cl and Ba-Cl correlations have been successfully extracted from the experimental data. It is concluded that the correct description of the melt is in terms of Ba2+ ions and Cl- ions rather than BaCl+ complexes and Cl- ions as was earlier supposed. The observed structure of the liquid is related to the fast ionic conductivity known to characterise the high temperature (cubic) phase of solid BaCl2.