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Polyhedral Model Kit

Al2(OH)6 Example

Names: Aluminum hydroxide or Gibbsite.

This structure is built from octahedral units. The pompom inside represents an aluminum ion and the clear octahedron represents six hydroxide ions in an octahedral arrangement around the aluminum. The motif of an octahedral sheet is found in many soil minerals.

Construction

Top view

Side view

 
1. Build an octahedral sheet.
2. Build another octahedral sheet.


Polyhedral Al2(OH)6 layer assembled using the kit.

Alternate representations for this structure (all views show identical structures):

Side view
Top view

These views also show the hydrogen atoms that are part of Al2(OH)6. In the space-filling representations too large a value has been used for the H+ ionic radius so that hydrogen can be observed.


Developed in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin Materials Research Science and Engineering Center
Interdisciplinary Education Group   |   MRSEC on Nanostructured Interfaces
This page created by George Lisensky, Beloit College.  Last modified April 25, 2015 .