rubidium chloride

Rubidium chloride is the chemical compound with the formula RbCl. This alkali metal halide salt is composed of rubidium and chlorine, and finds diverse uses ranging from electrochemistry to molecular biology. Structure In its gas phase, RbCl is diatomic with a bond length estimated at 2.7868 Å. This distance increases to 3.285 Å for cubic RbCl, reflecting the higher coordination number of the ions in the solid phase. Depending on conditions, solid RbCl exists in one of three arrangements or polymorphs as determined with holographic imaging: Sodium chloride (octahedral 6:6) The sodium chloride (NaCl) polymorph is most common. A cubic close-packed arrangement of chloride anions with rubidium cations filling the octahedral holes describes this polymorph. Both ions are six-coordinate in this arrangement. The lattice energy of this polymorph is only 3.2 kJ/mol less than the following structure's.