The smallest Cs-to-Cs inter-nuclear distance in the crystal is — Solid State Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

Since there is Z = 1 CsCl formula unit per unit cell in the CsCl-type simple cubic structure, the volume of the unit cell is equal to the volume occupied by one ion pair: a^3 = 8.0 * 10^-23 cm3 = 80 * 10^-24 cm3 => a = (80)^(1/3) * 10^-8 cm = 4.3 * 10^-8 cm = 4.3 A. The smallest Cs-to-Cs distance is equal to the cell edge, which is 4.3 A.