XAFS study of molten ZrCl4 in LiCl-KCl eutectic

The local structure of motlen ZrCl4 in LiCl-KCl eutectic was investigated by using an X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) of the Zr K-absorption edge. The nearest Zr4+-Cl- distance and coordination number from the curve fitting analysis were (2.51 +/- 0.02) Angstrom and 5.9 +/- 0.6, respectively. These suggest that a 6-fold coordination (ZrCl6)(2-) is predominant in the molten mixture.