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Title: Relativistic Effects and Gold Site Distributions: Synthesis, Structure, and Bonding in a Polar Intermetallic Na6Cd16Au7

Journal Article · · Inorganic Chemistry
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/ic200501h· OSTI ID:1037855

Na{sub 6}Cd{sub 16}Au{sub 7} has been synthesized via typical high-temperature reactions, and its structure refined by single crystal X-ray diffraction as cubic, Fm{bar 3}m, a = 13.589(1) {angstrom}, Z = 4. The structure consists of Cd{sub 8} tetrahedral star (TS) building blocks that are face capped by six shared gold (Au2) vertexes and further diagonally bridged via Au1 to generate an orthogonal, three-dimensional framework [Cd{sub 8}(Au2){sub 6/2}(Au1){sub 4/8}], an ordered ternary derivative of Mn{sub 6}Th{sub 23}. Linear muffin-tin-orbital (LMTO)-atomic sphere approximation (ASA) electronic structure calculations indicate that Na{sub 6}Cd{sub 16}Au{sub 7} is metallic and that {approx}76% of the total crystal orbital Hamilton populations (-ICOHP) originate from polar Cd-Au bonding with 18% more from fewer Cd-Cd contacts. Na{sub 6}Cd{sub 16}Au{sub 7} (45 valence electron count (vec)) is isotypic with the older electron-richer Mg{sub 6}Cu{sub 16}Si{sub 7} (56 vec) in which the atom types are switched and bonding characteristics among the network elements are altered considerably (Si for Au, Cu for Cd, Mg for Na). The earlier and more electronegative element Au now occupies the Si site, in accord with the larger relativistic bonding contributions from polar Cd-Au versus Cu-Si bonds with the neighboring Cd in the former Cu positions. Substantial electronic differences in partial densities-of-states (PDOS) and COHP data for all atoms emphasize these. Strong contributions of nearby Au 5d{sup 10} to bonding states without altering the formal vec are the likely origin of these effects.

Research Organization:
Ames Lab., Ames, IA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC02-07CH11358
OSTI ID:
1037855
Report Number(s):
IS-J 7637; INOCAJ; TRN: US201208%%32
Journal Information:
Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 50, Issue 15; ISSN 0020-1669
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English