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Q

Describe the ionic crystal structures of NaCl and CsCl

A

In ionic halides, oppositely charged ions pack around one another in such a way to increase the bonding energy by maximising electrostatic attraction and minimising repulsion.

Thus each cation is surrounded by 6 or 8 anions and vice versus, the actual number depending only on the relative sizes of the anion to cation in the chlorides. 8 chloride anions can fit around the larger Cs ion while the smaller Na can only accommodate 6. The crystal coordination numbers are therefore 8:8 in CsCl and 6:6 in NaCl