The Molybdenum Stannide MoSn2

The title compound was prepared by annealing molybdenum powder with an excess of tin. Single-crystals were obtained by dissolving the tin-rich matrix in hydrochloric acid. They are Pauli paramagnetic. The crystal structure was determined from single-crystal X-ray diffractometer data: P6₂22, a = 548.8(1) pm, c = 1417.1(2) pm, Z = 6, R = 0.036 for 18 variable parameters and 389 structure factors. MoSn₂ is only the second representative of the hexagonal Mg₂Ni-type structure. The relation of the structure to the CuAl₂-type is discussed.