Cadmium Chloride (CdCl2)
The cadmium chloride structure adopts a close-packing lattice with a ten-atom basis and rhombohedral symmetry.
Views of a single unit cell
The structure below is an equivalent representation of a single unit cell of CdCl2. Each unit cell contains eight Cd and two Cl atoms. In these structures, Cd is beige and Cl is green.
Views of Multiple Unit Cells
The CdCl2 crystal structure can be generated by periodically reproducing the unit cell. Below are shown a cuts from a 10x10x10 structure. In this structures below, the crystal is oriented so that the computer monitor is parallel to the (001) plane.
Views of Multiple Unit Cells
Crystal structures of arbitrarily large size can be constructed.
Crystal Structure Layers (on edge)
Seen in the (001) plane, one clearly observes the layered structure of the crystal.
Crystal Structure Layers (from top)
Seen in the (100) plane, one clearly observes that the triangular arrangement of the atoms in each layers.
Single Layers
In these structures below, only a single slab of atoms of Cd (left) or Cl (right) are shown in the (111) plane.
References
Sickafus, K. E. et al. Layered Atom Arrangements in Complex Materials, A Technical Report from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, LA-14205, April 2006. posted: April, 2015.
updated: April, 2015.