The electron density distribution in α-spodumene, LiAl(SiO3)2, was derived from high-resolution X-ray diffraction experiments. The results obtained from both Mo Kα- and Ag Kα-wavelength data sets are reported. The features of the Si—O and Al—O bonds are related to the geometrical parameters of the Si—O—Al and Si—O—Si bridges on the one hand and to the O...Li+ interaction on the other. Kappa refinements against the two data sets yielded almost the same net charges for the Si (+1.8 e) and O (−1.0 e) atoms in spodumene. However, the Al net charge obtained from the Ag Kα data (+1.9 e) is larger than the net charge derived from the Mo Kα data (+1.5 e). This difference correlates with a more contracted Al valence shell revealed by the shorter X-ray wavelength (κ = 1.4 for the Ag Kα data set). The derived net charges were used to calculate the Madelung potential at the spodumene atomic sites. The electrostatic energy for the chemical formula LiAl(SiO3)2 was −8.60 e2 Å−1 (−123.84 eV) from the net charges derived from the Ag Kα data and −6.97 e2 Å−1 (−100.37 eV) from the net charges derived from the Mo Kα data.
An X-ray diffraction study of the electron density distribution in molecular crystals