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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Synthesis of Nine-atom Deltahedral Zintl Ions of Germanium and their Functionalization with Organic Groups
Published on: February 11, 2012
Intermetallic compounds with near Zintl phase behavior: RE2Zn3Ge6 (RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd) grown from liquid indium
James R Salvador1, Daniel Bilc, Jeffrey R Gour
1Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48842, USA.
Abstract:
A series of compounds has been discovered while investigating reactions of rare earth, transition metals, and Ge in excess indium. These compounds, RE2Zn3Ge6 (RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd), are isostructural, crystallizing in the orthorhombic space group Cmcm with lattice parameters a = 5.9691(9) angstroms, b = 24.987(4) angstroms, and c = 5.9575(9) angstroms for La2Zn3Ge6, a = 5.9503(5) angstroms, b = 24.761(2) angstroms, and c = 5.9477(5) angstroms for the Ce analogue, a =5.938(2) angstroms, b = 24.708(8) angstroms, and c = 5.936(2) angstroms for Pr2Zn3Ge6, and a = 5.9094(7) angstroms, b = 24.619(3) angstroms, and c = 5.9063(5) angstroms for the Nd analogue. The structure is composed of PbO-like ZnGe layers and ZnGe4 cage layers and is related to the Ce4Zn8Ge(11-x) structure type. The bonding in the system can be rationalized using the Zintl concept resulting in a material that is expected to be a valence precise semiconductor, although its behavior is more consistent with it being a semimetal, making it an intermediate case. The results of band structure calculations and magnetic measurements of these compounds are discussed.
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