Eu5F[SiO4]3 und Yb5S[SiO4]3: Gemischtvalente Lanthanoid‐Silicate mit Apatit‐Struktur

Eu₅F[SiO₄]₃ and Yb₅S[SiO₄]₃: Mixed‐Valent Lanthanoid Silicates with Apatite‐Type of Structure By the reaction of Eu, EuF₃, Eu₂O₃ with SiO₂ in evacuated gold ampoules, using NaF as flux, at a temperature of 1000 °C for ten hours, dark‐red, platelet‐shaped single crystals of Eu₅F[SiO₄]₃ are obtained. Similarly dark‐red, but pillar‐shaped single crystals of Yb₅S[SiO₄]₃ are obtained by the reaction of Yb, Yb₂O₃ and S with SiO₂ in the presence CsBr as flux in evacuated silica ampoules at 850 °C and an annealing time of seven days. Both compounds crystallize hexagonally (P6₃/m, Z = 2; Eu₅F[SiO₄]₃: a = 954.79(9), c = 704.16(6) pm; Yb₅S[SiO₄]₃: a = 972.36(9), c = 648.49(6) pm) in the case of Eu₅F[SiO₄]₃ analogous to the mineral fluorapatite and for Yb₅S[SiO₄]₃ as a bromapatite—type variety. The crystal structure containing isolated [SiO₄]^4— tetrahedra distinguishes two rare‐earth cation positions with coordination numbers of nine (M1) and seven (M2), in which the position M1 of the europium fluoride silicate is almost exclusively occupied by Eu²⁺ cations, whereas in ytterbium sulfide silicate it contains di‐ and trivalent Yb cations in the ratio 1 : 1. In both cases, however, the M2 position is only populated with M³⁺.