Lattice dynamics of solid hydrofluoric acid

Abstract

In HF the intermolecular binding is stronger than in the other hydrohalides, presumably owing to hydrogen bonds. Because of these short-range interactions, dynamical models, which take into account a limited number of neighbours only, appear better justified than for the other hydrohalides. Measurements of the energy distribution of scattered slow neutrons and the results of optical measurements are compared to calculations based on a model of central forces between neighbouring fluorine and hydrogen, and between neighbouring hydrogen atoms within a molecular zig-zag chain, and between nearest and next-nearest fluorine neighbours of adjacent chains, as well as with general force constants for the displacements out of the chain planes.