Materials Data on CuNi3S8 by Materials Project
Ni3CuS8 is Pyrite-derived structured and crystallizes in the trigonal R-3 space group. The structure is three-dimensional. Ni2+ is bonded to six S1- atoms to form NiS6 octahedra that share corners with four equivalent CuS6 octahedra, corners with eight equivalent NiS6 octahedra, and corners with six SNi3S tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 64–68°. There are a spread of Ni–S bond distances ranging from 2.36–2.40 Å. Cu2+ is bonded to six equivalent S1- atoms to form CuS6 octahedra that share corners with twelve equivalent NiS6 octahedra and corners with six equivalent SCuNi2S tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 67–68°. All Cu–S bond lengths are 2.45 Å. There are two inequivalent S1- sites. In the first S1- site, S1- is bonded to three equivalent Ni2+ and one S1- atom to form distorted SNi3S tetrahedra that share corners with three equivalent NiS6 octahedra and corners with fifteen SNi3S tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 76°. The S–S bond length is 2.07 Å. In the second S1- site, S1- is bonded to two equivalent Ni2+, one Cu2+, and one S1- atom to form distorted SCuNi2S tetrahedra that share a cornercorner with one CuS6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent NiS6 octahedra, and corners with fifteen SNi3S tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 73–79°. The S–S bond length is 2.07 Å.