DOE OSTI2020
Lu3Al is beta Cu3Ti-like structured and crystallizes in the hexagonal P6_3/mmc space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Lu is bonded to eight equivalent Lu and four equivalent Al atoms to form distorted LuLu8Al4 cuboctahedra that share corners with four equivalent AlLu12 cuboctahedra, corners with fourteen equivalent LuLu8Al4 cuboctahedra, edges with six equivalent AlLu12 cuboctahedra, edges with twelve equivalent LuLu8Al4 cuboctahedra, faces with four equivalent AlLu12 cuboctahedra, and faces with sixteen equivalent LuLu8Al4 cuboctahedra. There are a spread of Lu–Lu bond distances ranging from 3.22–3.43 Å. There are two shorter (3.22 Å) and two longer (3.33 Å) Lu–Al bond lengths. Al is bonded to twelve equivalent Lu atoms to form AlLu12 cuboctahedra that share corners with six equivalent AlLu12 cuboctahedra, corners with twelve equivalent LuLu8Al4 cuboctahedra, edges with eighteen equivalent LuLu8Al4 cuboctahedra, faces with eight equivalent AlLu12 cuboctahedra, and faces with twelve equivalent LuLu8Al4 cuboctahedra.