Crystal structure of Ba₅In₄Sb₆

Abstract

The title compound, pentabarium tetraindium hexaantimony, was synthesized by an indium-flux reaction and its structure features layers composed of edge-sharing In 2 Sb 6 units. The voids between the In 4 Sb 6 layers are filled by Ba 2+ cations, which are all surrounded by six Sb atoms and form bicapped octahedral or triangular prismatic coordination geometries. There are five barium ions in the asymmetric unit: one has no imposed crystallographic symmetry, two lie on mirror planes and two have mm 2 point symmetry. The two In atoms and four Sb atoms in the asymmetric unit all lie on general crystallographic positions.