Unit cells of sodium chloride and of compounds isomorphous with sodium chloride are face centered cubic.
One common description of the unit cell of NaCl places chloride ions on the lattice points and sodium ions at the midpoint of each edge and in the center of the cell.
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NaCl and compounds isomorphous with NaCl crystallize with a face centered cubic unit cell.
Lattice points are located on the corners and in the center of the faces of the unit cell.
Chloride
ions are located on the lattice points and in the center of each face.
Sodium
ions are located in the octahedral holes at the center of the center of
the cell and in the center of each edge.
A
unit cell of the NaCl structure
Copyright ©
2003
by: Journal of Chemical Education Software
by: Journal of Chemical Education Software