The Crystal Structure of YPdSi,the Isotypic Compounds LnPdSi (Ln = Gd–Lu), and their Structural Relation to some other Equiatomic Compounds of the Rare Earth and Transition Metals with Main Group Elements

The nine title compounds were prepared from the elements by arc-melting and subsequent heat treatment in resistance and high-frequency furnaces. The crystal structure of these isotypic compounds was determined for YPdSi from single-crystal X-ray diffractometer data: Pmmn, a = 430.8(1) pm, b = 1391.2(1) pm, c = 743.1(1) pm, Z = 8, R = 0.024 for 417 structure factors and 40 variable parameters. The crystal structures of the isotypic compounds GdPdSi and ErPdSi were also refined from single-crystal data. The structure is of a new type. It consists of condensed, six-membered rings of alternating palladium and silicon atoms with Pd–Si bond distances varying between 249.6 and 258.8 pm. These two-dimensionally infinite nets are connected to each other via weak Pd–Si and Si–Si bonds with bond distances of 276.3 and 259.5 pm. The rare earth atoms are situated above and below the six-membered palladium-silicon rings in a manner as it is known for the aluminum atoms in the AlB₂ type structure. The crystal-chemical similarities and topologies of several structures derived from the aristotype AlB₂ (including those of BaPtSb, EuAuGe, KHg₂, ZrBeSi, and TiNiSi) are described, emphasizing their group-subgroup relationships. The previously reported compound ”︁Er₂Pd₂Si”︁”︁ has the same structure as has been found here for ErPdSi.