SrIrIn6 – An Intergrowth of SrIrIn4 with Indium Slabs

Abstract

The indium‐rich intermetallic compound SrIrIn6 was synthesized from the elements in a sealed tantalum ampoule at 1173 K, followed by slow cooling for crystal growth. SrIrIn6 crystallizes with a new structure type which was characterized by X‐ray powder and single crystal diffraction: Pmma, a = 852.34(2), b = 434.54(5), c = 1059.18(6) pm, wR2 = 0.0178, 884 F2 values, and 32 variables. The SrIrIn6 structure shows two basic building units: (i) Ir@In9 tricapped trigonal prisms (261–292 pm Ir–In) and (ii) distorted bcc In@In8 cubes (301 to 329 pm In–In). The strontium cations fill cages within the complex three‐dimensional [IrIn6] network and have coordination number 13 (Sr@In13) in form of a tricapped pentagonal prism. The SrIrIn6 structure can be described as a simple intergrowth variant of SrIrIn4 (LaCoAl4 type) with indium slabs. The crystal chemical similarities with the structures of SrIrIn4, SrIr2In8 and Eu3Ir2In15 are discussed.