Anhydrous magnesium chloride crystallizes as leaflets.
Magnesium chloride (MgCl₂) exhibits a distinct crystallization habit and a fascinating crystal structure. When anhydrous magnesium chloride crystallizes from magnesium chloride hexahydrate, it forms in the shape of thin, flat leaflets. This unique morphology is a direct result of its underlying crystal arrangement.
Crystal Structure of Magnesium Chloride
The intrinsic structure of magnesium chloride is characterized as layer-like. This layered arrangement contributes significantly to its physical properties, including its morphology as leaflets.
Key aspects of its crystal structure include:
- Layered Design: The fundamental building blocks of MgCl₂ crystals are arranged in distinct layers.
- Cubic Close Packing: The arrangement of the chloride ions (Cl⁻) within the structure follows a cubic close packing (ccp) scheme. This is a highly efficient way to pack spheres, where each sphere has 12 neighbors.
- Octahedral Hole Occupation: Within this cubic close-packed framework of chloride ions, the magnesium ions (Mg²⁺) occupy specific positions. They reside in alternate layers of the octahedral holes. Octahedral holes are the voids created between six surrounding ions in an octahedral geometry.
- Electrical Conductivity: The layered crystal structure of MgCl₂ also contributes to its property of being electrically conductive.
Summary of Crystallization Characteristics
To summarize the crystallization and structural properties of anhydrous magnesium chloride:
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
| Crystallization Form | Leaflets |
| Crystal Structure | Layer-like |
| Ion Packing (Cl⁻) | Cubic Close Packing (ccp) |
| Ion Occupation (Mg²⁺) | Alternate layers of octahedral holes within the Cl⁻ lattice |
| Electrical Property | Electrically conductive |
This distinctive crystallization as leaflets, coupled with its layer-like, cubic close-packed structure where magnesium ions occupy alternate octahedral holes, makes anhydrous magnesium chloride a unique inorganic compound.
