Rerefinement of the crystal structure of α-ThBr4

Abstract

Single crystals of α-ThBr₄, thorium(IV) tetra-bromide, were obtained as a side product from the reaction of CuBr with β-ThBr₄ at 753 K. In the crystal structure, the Th atom (site symmetry ..) is surrounded by eight Br atoms in the form of a tetra-gonal-disphenoidal coordination polyhedron. The connectivity of these polyhedra is ³ _∞[ThBr_4/2Br_4/2]. In comparison with the previous crystal structure refinement [Mason et al. (1974 ▸). J. Less-Common Met. 35, 331-338], the current rerefinement resulted in much higher preciscion of the lattice parameters and the atomic coordinates.

Keywords: actinide bromide; crystal structure; thorium; thorium bromide.