Structure of Zn3P2

The structure of Z_n3P₂ (P 4₂/nmc, a = b = 8. 0785 Å, c = 11. 3966 Å) was solved and refined to R = 3. 2% in a precision X-ray diffraction experiment (λ-MoK_a, graphite monochromator on a primary beam, 27,496 reflections) . Interatomic distances and bond angles have been determined. The fcc lattice of the structure is built from phosphorus atoms, and the zinc atoms occupy 3/4 of all tetrahedral voids; the structure is described by two equivalent models where 1/4 occupied (by zinc atoms) and 1/4 vacant voids change places. The zinc atoms that occupy the voids following the diamond principle do not change places.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by I. E. Zanin, K. B. Aleinikova, M. M. Afanasiev, and M. Yu. Antipin__________Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 45, No. 5, pp. 889–892, September–October, 2004.