The single crystal structure determination of Ln 6 MnSb 15 (Ln = La, Ce), Ln 6 Mn 1-x Zn x Sb 15 (x∼0.5), and Ln 6 ZnSb 15 (Ln = La -Pr)

Single crystals of Ln (6) MnSb (15) (Ln = La, Ce), Ln (6) Mn (1 - x) Zn (x) Sb (15) (x similar to 0.5), and Ln (6) ZnSb (15) (Ln = La - Pr) have been successfully grown and the compounds adopt the orthorhombic La 6 MnSb 15 structure type (space group Immm), with a similar to 4.3 angstrom, b similar to 15 angstrom, and c similar to 19 angstrom. This structure is comprised of antimony nets and antimony ribbons which exhibit positional disorder at connecting points between antimony substructures, in addition to two partially occupied transition metal sites. The unit cell volumes of the La analogs displayed a systematic decrease upon Zn substitution. However, for the Ce (6) Mn (1 - x) Zn (x) Sb (15) and Pr (6) Mn (1 - x) Zn (x) Sb (15) (x similar to 0.5), the volumes deviate from linearity as observed in the parent compounds.