DOE OSTI2020
Lu5Sb3 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group. The structure is three-dimensional. there are four inequivalent Lu sites. In the first Lu site, Lu is bonded in a 5-coordinate geometry to five Sb atoms. There are a spread of Lu–Sb bond distances ranging from 2.99–3.37 Å. In the second Lu site, Lu is bonded to five Sb atoms to form distorted LuSb5 square pyramids that share corners with five equivalent LuSb6 octahedra, an edgeedge with one LuSb6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent LuSb5 square pyramids, and a faceface with one LuSb6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 36–45°. There are a spread of Lu–Sb bond distances ranging from 3.07–3.12 Å. In the third Lu site, Lu is bonded to six Sb atoms to form distorted LuSb6 octahedra that share corners with five equivalent LuSb5 square pyramids, an edgeedge with one LuSb5 square pyramid, faces with two equivalent LuSb6 octahedra, and a faceface with one LuSb5 square pyramid. There are a spread of Lu–Sb bond distances ranging from 3.01–3.31 Å. In the fourth Lu site, Lu is bonded in a 5-coordinate geometry to five Sb atoms. There are a spread of Lu–Sb bond distances ranging from 3.00–3.26 Å. There are two inequivalent Sb sites. In the first Sb site, Sb is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to nine Lu atoms. In the second Sb site, Sb is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to eight Lu atoms.