Characterization of Ce3(SiS4)2I, a compound with a new structure type
Abstract
The first cerium iodothiosilicate, Ce3(SiS4)2I, has been synthesized from the reaction of cerium sulfide with silicon, iodine and sulfur at high temperature. This compound crystallizes in the monoclinic symmetry (space group C2/c and Z=4) with the powder refined cell parameters: a=15.9634(5), b=7.8502(2), c=10.8664(3) Å, β=97.931(2)°. The crystal structure was refined to R(%)=2.17 and Rw(%)=2.60 from single crystal X-ray diffraction data. Ce3(SiS4)2I presents tunnels in which are located the iodide anions surrounded by three ceriums, in [ICe3 ] isosceles triangular entities. The tunnels are constituted of a three dimensional network made of (CeIS8) polyhedra (trigonal prisms of sulfur tricapped by two sulfur and one iodine atom) linked to (SiS4) tetrahedra. Magnetic susceptibility measurements and UV–VIS diffuse reflectance spectroscopy are consistent with the occurrence of CeIII ions, whereas band structure calculations indicate that the phase is a semiconductor. The charge balance in the material can be written as : CeIII3SiIV2I–IS–II8 .