2005 Volume 73 Issue 8 Pages 710-714
The local structures of molten LaCl3 and solid LaOCl at elevated temperatures were deduced from radial distribution analyses through La-LIII absorption-edge XAFS technique. The nearest neighbor La-Cl distance and the coordination number of Cl around La in molten LaCl3 have so far been reported to be about 0.28 nm and nearly equal to 6 from the X-ray diffraction analysis. But the coordination number of Cl around La was evaluated at about 7 according to XAFS technique. By comparing the above results, the local structure of molten LaCl3 was considered whether it would be described as an octahedral-like coordination scheme where La was surrounded by about six to seven Cl’s or the distinct schemes. A similar discussion was made on LaOCl with less solubility against molten salts.