DOE OSTI2020
Ag3Er is Uranium Silicide-like structured and crystallizes in the hexagonal P6_3/mmc space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Er is bonded to twelve equivalent Ag atoms to form ErAg12 cuboctahedra that share corners with six equivalent ErAg12 cuboctahedra, corners with twelve equivalent AgEr4Ag8 cuboctahedra, edges with eighteen equivalent AgEr4Ag8 cuboctahedra, faces with eight equivalent ErAg12 cuboctahedra, and faces with twelve equivalent AgEr4Ag8 cuboctahedra. All Er–Ag bond lengths are 3.10 Å. Ag is bonded to four equivalent Er and eight equivalent Ag atoms to form distorted AgEr4Ag8 cuboctahedra that share corners with four equivalent ErAg12 cuboctahedra, corners with fourteen equivalent AgEr4Ag8 cuboctahedra, edges with six equivalent ErAg12 cuboctahedra, edges with twelve equivalent AgEr4Ag8 cuboctahedra, faces with four equivalent ErAg12 cuboctahedra, and faces with sixteen equivalent AgEr4Ag8 cuboctahedra. There are a spread of Ag–Ag bond distances ranging from 2.99–3.20 Å.