The Molecular Structure of Different Species of Cuprous Chloride from Gas‐Phase Electron Diffraction and Quantum Chemical Calculations

The molecular geometry of gaseous cuprous chloride oligomers was determined by gas‐phase electron diffraction at two different temperatures. Quantum chemical calculations were also performed for Cu n Cl n ( n =1–4) molecules. A complex vapor composition was found in both experiments. Molecules of Cu 3 Cl 3 and Cu 4 Cl 4 were present at the lower temperature (689 K), while dimeric molecules (Cu 2 Cl 2 ) were found in addition to the trimers and tetramers at the higher temperature (1333 K). All Cu n Cl n species were found to have planar rings by both experiment and computation. The bond lengths from electron diffraction ( r g ) at 689 K are 2.166±0.008 Å and 2.141±0.008 Å and the Cu‐Cl‐Cu bond angles are 73.9±0.6° and 88.0±0.6° for the trimer and the tetramer, respectively. At 1333 K the bond lengths are 2.254±0.011 Å, 2.180±0.011 Å, and 2.155±0.011 Å, and the CuClCu bond angles 67.3±1.1°, 74.4±1.1°, and 83.6±1.1° for the dimer, trimer, and tetramer, respectively.