Van der Waals radii of metals from spectroscopic data

The lack of information about the van der Waals radii of metals can be compensated for by using the results of spectroscopic investigations of van der Waals molecules. It has been shown that the interatomic distances in these molecules obey an additive scheme if one allows for the polarization effects. The van der Waals radii of the alkali metals, Ag, Mg, Zn, Cd, Hg, B, Al, In, and Si, have been determined from the interatomic distances in their heteroatomic molecules with atoms of noble gases. Use of the obtained radii for crystal chemistry is discussed.Translated fromIzyestiya Akademil Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1374–1378, August, 1994.