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Grade 11Physical Chemistry

ceasium chloride is more stable than sodium chloride.why?

Profile image of kiran kumar
12 Years agoGrade 11
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1 Answer

Profile image of Sunil Kumar FP
11 Years ago
When attractions are set up between two ions of opposite charges, energy is released. The more energy that can be released, the more stable the system becomes. That means that the more contact there is between negative and positive ions, the more stable the crystal should become.

If we can surround a positive ion like caesium with eight chloride ions rather than just six (and vice versa for the chloride ions), then we should have a more stable crystal.