The structure of liquid CCl₄

Abstract

The structure factor of liquid carbon tetrachloride has been measured up to Q = 10 Å⁻¹ at ambient temperature using the SLAD diffractometer at NFL Studsvik. The results, which are comparable with previous measurements, have been modelled by the reverse Monte Carlo method. Constraints on the CCl coordination (fourfold) and nearest neighbour distance have been applied in order to define the molecules within the model. An analysis of the particle configurations obtained, that are fully consistent with the experimental structure factor, shows no evidence for the close interlock between neighbouring molecules which has been widely accepted so far. This interlock would require the average ClCl coordination to be 6, whereas it appears to be less than 4. Our model suggests that the dominant intermolecular connection is of the corner-to-corner type, and not of the corner-to-face type.