Can Thermal Vibration Amplitudes be Used as Indicators of Reaction Pathways? An Examination of [Nb, TaF₇]^2- Structures

Abstract

Thermal vibrational amplitudes, determined from a single-crystal X-ray study of K₂TaF₇ at room temperature, show similar characteristics to the neutron values for isomorphous K₂NbF₇, exhibiting considerable variations in anisotropies for the different fluorine atoms. These variations can be rationalized by using a combination of electron pair repulsion theory and crystal packing considerations.