Crystal structure of calcium perchlorate anhydrate, Ca(ClO4)2, from laboratory powder X-ray diffraction data

Abstract

The crystal structure of calcium perchlorate anhydrate was determined from laboratory X-ray powder diffraction data. The title compound was obtained by heating hydrated calcium perchlorate [Ca(ClO4)2·xH2O] at 623 K in air for 12 h. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbca and is isotypic with Ca(AlD4)2. The asymmetric unit contains one Ca, two Cl and eight O sites, all on general sites (Wyckoff position 8c). The crystal structure consists of isolated ClO4 − tetrahedra and Ca2+ cations. The Ca2+ cation is coordinated by eight O atoms of eight symmetry-related ClO4 − tetrahedra within a distorted square-antiprismatic environment.