DOE OSTI2020
Mg2Sn crystallizes in the trigonal R32 space group. The structure is three-dimensional. there are four inequivalent Mg sites. In the first Mg site, Mg is bonded to eight Mg and four equivalent Sn atoms to form distorted MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra that share corners with eighteen MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra, edges with eight equivalent SnMg9Sn3 cuboctahedra, edges with ten MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra, faces with eight equivalent SnMg9Sn3 cuboctahedra, and faces with twelve MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra. There are a spread of Mg–Mg bond distances ranging from 3.20–3.25 Å. All Mg–Sn bond lengths are 3.20 Å. In the second Mg site, Mg is bonded to eight Mg and four equivalent Sn atoms to form distorted MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra that share corners with eighteen MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra, edges with eight equivalent SnMg9Sn3 cuboctahedra, edges with ten MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra, faces with eight equivalent SnMg9Sn3 cuboctahedra, and faces with twelve MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra. There are a spread of Mg–Mg bond distances ranging from 3.20–3.25 Å. All Mg–Sn bond lengths are 3.20 Å. In the third Mg site, Mg is bonded to six Mg and six equivalent Sn atoms to form distorted MgMg6Sn6 cuboctahedra that share corners with six equivalent MgMg6Sn6 cuboctahedra, corners with twelve equivalent SnMg9Sn3 cuboctahedra, edges with eighteen MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra, faces with eight equivalent SnMg9Sn3 cuboctahedra, and faces with twelve MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra. All Mg–Sn bond lengths are 3.24 Å. In the fourth Mg site, Mg is bonded to eight Mg and four equivalent Sn atoms to form distorted MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra that share corners with eighteen MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra, edges with eight equivalent SnMg9Sn3 cuboctahedra, edges with ten MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra, faces with eight equivalent SnMg9Sn3 cuboctahedra, and faces with twelve MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra. There are a spread of Mg–Mg bond distances ranging from 3.20–3.25 Å. All Mg–Sn bond lengths are 3.20 Å. Sn is bonded to nine Mg and three equivalent Sn atoms to form distorted SnMg9Sn3 cuboctahedra that share corners with six equivalent MgMg6Sn6 cuboctahedra, corners with twelve equivalent SnMg9Sn3 cuboctahedra, edges with six equivalent SnMg9Sn3 cuboctahedra, edges with twelve MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra, faces with four equivalent SnMg9Sn3 cuboctahedra, and faces with sixteen MgMg8Sn4 cuboctahedra. All Sn–Sn bond lengths are 3.24 Å.