DOE OSTI2020
LaNi9Ge4 crystallizes in the tetragonal I4/mcm space group. The structure is three-dimensional. La is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to sixteen Ni and eight equivalent Ge atoms. There are eight shorter (3.25 Å) and eight longer (3.42 Å) La–Ni bond lengths. All La–Ge bond lengths are 3.33 Å. There are three inequivalent Ni sites. In the first Ni site, Ni is bonded to two equivalent La, six Ni, and four equivalent Ge atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and face-sharing NiLa2Ni6Ge4 cuboctahedra. There are a spread of Ni–Ni bond distances ranging from 2.43–2.58 Å. There are two shorter (2.53 Å) and two longer (2.59 Å) Ni–Ge bond lengths. In the second Ni site, Ni is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent La, three Ni, and four equivalent Ge atoms. The Ni–Ni bond length is 2.58 Å. There are a spread of Ni–Ge bond distances ranging from 2.38–2.52 Å. In the third Ni site, Ni is bonded to eight Ni and four equivalent Ge atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and face-sharing NiNi8Ge4 cuboctahedra. All Ni–Ge bond lengths are 2.41 Å. Ge is bonded in a 12-coordinate geometry to two equivalent La and nine Ni atoms.