Coloring variants of the Re3B type

Abstract

Abstract The Re3B type, space group Cmcm, has boron-centered trigonal prisms as central building units and is one of the basic structure types with numerous binary and ternary representatives. The coloring of different atoms on the two crystallographically independent rhenium sites leads to a manifold of compounds with different bonding peculiarities that are rather isopointal than isotypic with the prototype. Typical compounds are the S-phase precipitate MgCuAl2, the silicide ScPt2Si or the iodide Th0.5Pb0.5I3 (PuBr3 type). Differences in size or composition might force symmetry reductions. This is discussed for YZn3 (space group Pnma) and the different coloring variants ScRhSi2 and TaNi2P which show different twists of the trigonal prisms. Striking singular representatives with lower symmetry structures are BaThBr6 (Pmma) and NbCo2B (P21/c) which allow different ordering/distortion patterns for the prisms. All these crystal chemical details are discussed on the basis of group subgroup schemes (Bärnighausen trees).