Materials Data on La3(SiNi)4 by Materials Project
La3Ni4Si4 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Immm space group. The structure is three-dimensional. there are two inequivalent La3+ sites. In the first La3+ site, La3+ is bonded in a 6-coordinate geometry to six Si4- atoms. There are two shorter (3.12 Å) and four longer (3.17 Å) La–Si bond lengths. In the second La3+ site, La3+ is bonded in a distorted body-centered cubic geometry to eight equivalent Si4- atoms. All La–Si bond lengths are 3.18 Å. There are two inequivalent Ni+1.75+ sites. In the first Ni+1.75+ site, Ni+1.75+ is bonded to four equivalent Si4- atoms to form a mixture of edge and corner-sharing NiSi4 tetrahedra. There are two shorter (2.37 Å) and two longer (2.38 Å) Ni–Si bond lengths. In the second Ni+1.75+ site, Ni+1.75+ is bonded in a trigonal planar geometry to three Si4- atoms. There are two shorter (2.35 Å) and one longer (2.39 Å) Ni–Si bond lengths. There are two inequivalent Si4- sites. In the first Si4- site, Si4- is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to four equivalent La3+ and five Ni+1.75+ atoms. In the second Si4- site, Si4- is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to six La3+, two equivalent Ni+1.75+, and one Si4- atom. The Si–Si bond length is 2.45 Å.