Tolbachite, CuCl2, the first example of Cu2+ octahedrally coordinated by Cl−

Abstract

The crystal structure of synthetic tolbachite, CuCl 2 , has been refined by the Rietveld method using an X-ray powder diffractometer modified for atmospheric control. The structure is monoclinic, space group C2/m, a=6.9038, b=3.2995, c=6.824A, β=122.197°, Z=2, with Cu 2+ at (000), and Cl - at [0.5048,0,0.2294]. The structure contains corrugated shetts of Jahn-Teller (4+2) distorted C 2+ Cl 6 octahedra, with van der Waals forces providing the intrasheet bonding.