Ternary chalcogenide compounds AB2X4: The crystal structures of SiPb2S4 and SiPb2Se4

The crystal structures of SiPb₂S₄ and SiPb₂Se₄ were determined from three dimensional X-ray diffraction data collected with Mo radiation. Both structures are monoclinic with space group $\text{P2}{}_1\text{c}$ and 4 formula units per unit cell. Lattice dimensions for SiPb₂S₄ are a = 6.4721(5) Å, b = 6.6344(9) Å, c = 16.832(1) Å, and β = 108.805(7)°. For SiPb₂Se₄, a = 8.5670(2) Å, b = 7.0745(3) Å, c = 13.6160(3) Å, and β = 108.355(3)°. The Si is tetrahedrally coordinated to S and Se with SiS about 2.10 Å and SiSe about 2.27 Å. The structural framework can be described as consisting of trigonal prisms of S or Se atoms which form a prismatic tube by sharing the triangular faces. These tubes in turn share edges to form corrugated sheets, with the unshared edges projecting alternately on each side of the sheet. The structures are very similar but not identical. In the sulfide one Pb is in sevenfold coordination and the other crystallographically independent Pb is in eightfold coordination. The PbS distances range from 2.82–3.50 Å. In SiPb₂Se₄ both Pb atoms are in sevenfold coordination. PbSe distances range from 2.97 to 3.54 Å. In the sulfide the Pb atoms form a zig-zag chain within the channels formed by the prismatic tubes while in the selenide they are in a straight line.