Abstract
The new phase K12Au21Sn4 has been synthesized by direct reaction of the elements at elevated temperatures. Single crystal X-ray diffraction established Its orthorhombic structure, space group Pmmn (No. 59), a= 12.162(2); b = 18.058(4); c=8.657(2) Å, V= 1901.3(7) Å3, and Z=2. The structure consists of infinite puckered sheets of vertexsharing gold tetrahedra (Au20) that are tied together by thin layers of alternating four-bonded-Sn and -Au atoms (AuSn4). Remarkably, the dense but electron-poorer blocks of Au tetrahedra coexist with more open and saturated Au - Sn layers, which are fragments of a zinc blende type structure that maximize tetrahedral heteroatomic bonding outside of the network of gold tetrahedra. LMTO band structure calculations reveal metallic properties and a pseudogap at 256 valence electrons per formula unit, only three electrons fewer than in the title compound and at a point at which strong Au - Sn bonding is optimized. Additionally, the tight coordination of the Au framework atoms by K plays an Important bonding role: each Au tetrahedra has 10 K neighbors and each K atom has 8-12 Au contacts. The appreciably different role of the p element Sn in this structure from that In the triel members in K 3Au5In and Rb2Au3TI appears to arise from its higher electron count which leads to better p-bonding (valence electron concentrations=1.32 versus 1.22).
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 11108-11113 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Inorganic Chemistry |
Volume | 48 |
Issue number | 23 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2009 |