How can I determine atomic size of ions?

1 Answer
May 26, 2014

X-ray crystallography.

The ionic radius of an ion is determined for ions in a giant ionic lattice structure by measuring the distances between the ions and assuming that the ions touch each other.

The technique of x-ray crystallography allows the positions of each atom in the crystal lattice to be mapped out, and from this 3D map, the distances between the ions can be calculated and hence the ionic radii estimated.