Gas electron diffraction study of the molecular structure of NbCl4

The structure of the NbCl₄ molecule is studied experimentally by the synchronous electron diffraction and mass spectrometry methods. The model molecular geometries of C_2v, C_3v, D_2d, and T_d symmetries are verified. The advantages of the tetrahedral model over the other models are established. The thermally averaged parameters of the effective configuration of the NbCl₄ molecule are as follows: r_g(Nb?Cl)=2.279(5) Å, l(Nb?Cl)=0.073(2) Å, r_g(Cl?Cl)=3.692(17) Å, l(Cl?Cl)=0.275(11) Å, ∠_g(Cl-Nb-Cl)=108.2(5)°, and δ(Cl?Cl)=0.030(19) Å.