The structure of liquid deuterium bromide by slow-neutron scattering

Abstract

Neutron diffraction measurements at 0·7 Å are reported for coexisting liquid deuterium bromide at -40°C. The results show that the deuterium bromide molecule in the liquid is little distorted as compared with the free molecule. The presence of a peak in the intermolecular pair distribution function at 3·1 Å is thought to be evidence of the formation of weak, rather long, intermolecular hydrogen bonds. As expected, both these effects are much weaker than for deuterium chloride reported in an earlier paper [2] and liquid deuterium bromide is therefore a simpler polar liquid.