DOE OSTI2016
We synthesized La 2 Re 3 B 7 and La 3 Re 2 B 5 in single-crystalline form from a molten La/Ni eutectic at 1000°C, in the first example of the flux crystal growth of ternary rare-earth rhenium borides. Both compounds crystallize in their own orthorhombic structure types, with La 2 Re 3 B 7 (space group Pcca) having lattice parameters a = 7.657(2) Å, b = 6.755(1) Å, and c = 11.617(2) Å, and La 3 Re 2 B 5 (space group Pmma) having lattice parameters a = 10.809(2) Å, b = 5.287(1) Å, and c = 5.747(1) Å. Furthermore, the compounds possess three-dimensional framework structures that are built up from rhenium boride polyhedra and boron-boron bonding. La 3 Re 2 B 5 features fairly common B 2 dumbbells, whereas La 2 Re 3 B 7 has unique one-dimensional subunits composed of alternating triangular B3 and trans-B4 zigzag chain fragments. Also observed in La 3 Re 2 B 5 is an unusual coordination of B by an octahedron of La atoms. Electronic band structure calculations predict that La 2 Re 3 B 7 is a semimetal, which is observed in the electrical resistivity data as measured on single crystals, with behavior obeying the Bloch-Grüneisen model and a room-temperature resistivity ρ300K of ~ 375 μΩ cm. The electronic band structure calculations also suggest that La 3 Re 2 B 5 is a regular metal.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗