DOE OSTI2020
Ho2Ni17 crystallizes in the hexagonal P6_3/mmc space group. The structure is three-dimensional. there are two inequivalent Ho sites. In the first Ho site, Ho is bonded in a 12-coordinate geometry to eighteen Ni atoms. There are a spread of Ho–Ni bond distances ranging from 2.89–3.21 Å. In the second Ho site, Ho is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to twenty Ni atoms. There are a spread of Ho–Ni bond distances ranging from 2.82–3.12 Å. There are four inequivalent Ni sites. In the first Ni site, Ni is bonded in a 2-coordinate geometry to one Ho and thirteen Ni atoms. There are a spread of Ni–Ni bond distances ranging from 2.39–2.71 Å. In the second Ni site, Ni is bonded to two equivalent Ho and ten Ni atoms to form NiHo2Ni10 cuboctahedra that share corners with fourteen NiHo2Ni10 cuboctahedra, edges with six equivalent NiHo3Ni9 cuboctahedra, and faces with ten NiHo2Ni10 cuboctahedra. There are four shorter (2.38 Å) and four longer (2.39 Å) Ni–Ni bond lengths. In the third Ni site, Ni is bonded in a 12-coordinate geometry to two Ho and ten Ni atoms. There are a spread of Ni–Ni bond distances ranging from 2.37–2.51 Å. In the fourth Ni site, Ni is bonded to three Ho and nine Ni atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner, edge, and face-sharing NiHo3Ni9 cuboctahedra. Both Ni–Ni bond lengths are 2.39 Å.