A determination of the structure of liquid Ga2Te3 using combined X-ray diffraction and neutron diffraction with isotopic substitution

The partial structure factors of liquid Ga2Te3 have been determined using a combination of neutron diffraction with isotopic substitution (NDIS) and anomalous X-ray diffraction around the Te K edge. The inclusion of X-ray diffraction data significantly improves the statistical accuracy of the partial structure factors obtained compared with those obtained by the NDIS method alone. The results show that the liquid is hetero-coordinated in a way similar to that of typical two-component glasses or ionic liquids. There is no evidence, within the accuracy of this experiment, for substantial numbers of homopolar bonds as suggested by recent ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. The bond distances and coordination numbers show strong similarities to the tetrahedrally bonded defective zinc blende structure of the crystalline solid before melting.