DOE OSTI2020
Er3Sm is beta Cu3Ti-like structured and crystallizes in the hexagonal P6_3/mmc space group. The structure is three-dimensional. there are three inequivalent Er sites. In the first Er site, Er is bonded to eight Er and four equivalent Sm atoms to form ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra that share corners with four equivalent SmEr12 cuboctahedra, corners with fourteen ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra, edges with six equivalent SmEr12 cuboctahedra, edges with twelve ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra, faces with four equivalent SmEr12 cuboctahedra, and faces with sixteen ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra. There are a spread of Er–Er bond distances ranging from 3.50–3.63 Å. There are two shorter (3.51 Å) and two longer (3.60 Å) Er–Sm bond lengths. In the second Er site, Er is bonded to eight Er and four equivalent Sm atoms to form ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra that share corners with four equivalent SmEr12 cuboctahedra, corners with fourteen ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra, edges with six equivalent SmEr12 cuboctahedra, edges with twelve ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra, faces with four equivalent SmEr12 cuboctahedra, and faces with sixteen ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra. There are a spread of Er–Er bond distances ranging from 3.50–3.63 Å. There are two shorter (3.51 Å) and two longer (3.60 Å) Er–Sm bond lengths. In the third Er site, Er is bonded to eight Er and four equivalent Sm atoms to form ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra that share corners with four equivalent SmEr12 cuboctahedra, corners with fourteen ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra, edges with six equivalent SmEr12 cuboctahedra, edges with twelve ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra, faces with four equivalent SmEr12 cuboctahedra, and faces with sixteen ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra. There are two shorter (3.51 Å) and two longer (3.60 Å) Er–Sm bond lengths. Sm is bonded to twelve Er atoms to form SmEr12 cuboctahedra that share corners with six equivalent SmEr12 cuboctahedra, corners with twelve ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra, edges with eighteen ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra, faces with eight equivalent SmEr12 cuboctahedra, and faces with twelve ErSm4Er8 cuboctahedra.