A neutron diffraction study of NiCl2in D2O and H2O. A direct determination of gNiH(r)

Abstract

The technique of neutron diffraction and isotopic substitution has been applied to solutions of 2 mol. kg^-1 nickel chloride in light and heavy water. The results were used to obtain g_NiH(r) directly. Good agreement is found between the experimental g_NiH(r) with that derived from a computer simulation study in which Mg²⁺ (usually regarded as isomorphically equivalent to Ni²⁺) was the cation. A neutron diffraction study, again using the isotopic difference method, was also made of 2 mol. kg NiCl₂ in a 'null' mixture of H₂O and D₂O. Results show that the Ni²⁺ cation is preferentially deuterated, a result in disagreement with recent theoretical calculations by Newton and Friedman (1985).