Ba8Hg3U3S18: a complex uranium(+4)/uranium(+5) sulfide

The compound Ba(8)Hg(3)U(3)S(18) was obtained from the solid-state reaction at 1123 K of U, HgS, BaS, and S, with BaBr(2)/KBr or BaCl(2) as a flux. This material crystallizes in a new structure type in space group P6 of the hexagonal system with three formula units in a cell of dimensions a = 27.08(1) ?, c = 4.208(2) ?, and V = 2673(2) ?(3). The structure contains infinite chains of US(6) octahedra and nearly linear S-Hg-S](2-) dithiomercurate anions, separated by Ba(2+) cations. In the temperature range 100-300 K, the paramagnetic behavior of Ba(8)Hg(3)U(3)S(18) can be fit to the Curie-Weiss law, resulting in μ(eff) = 5.40(4) μ(B), or 3.12(2) μ(B)/U. The compound displays an antiferromagnetic transition at T(N) = 59 K. Although the formal oxidation states of Ba, Hg, and S can be assigned as +2, +2, and -2, the oxidation state of U is less certain. On the basis of interatomic distance arguments and the magnetic susceptibility data, the compound is proposed to contain U in both +4 and +5 formal oxidation states.