XRD Study of the Nacrite/CsCl/H₂O Intercalation Complex

The intercalation complex of nacrite with an alkali halide (Caesium chloride: CsCl) has been successfully prepared by mixing a CsCl saturated solution with a 8.4Å-hydrated nacrite. The homogeneous nacrite/CsCl complex has been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Using an oriented clay aggregate, 10 basal reflections were obtained. The XRD pattern showed basal spacing of 10.5Å with integral series of 00l reflections indicating an ordered stacking of parallel 1:1 layers. A direct method involving a monodimensional electron density projection, along the normal to the layers, is used to determine the number and the position of intercalated compounds. The best agreement between observed and simulated p(Z) (R = 5%) is obtained by placing one Cl- ion at Z=6.7Å; one Cs+ ion at Z=8.3Å and two H O molecules at 6.3 and 7.4Å.