Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.55, No.23, 12409-12418, 2016
Structural and Thermodynamic Stability of the "1111" Structure Type: A Case Study of the EuFZnPn Series
Two new compounds with the LaOAgS structure, EuFZnAs (1) and EuFZnSb (2), were obtained via solid state reaction. Both compounds are tetragonal (P4/nmm) with the cell parameters a = 4.1000(1) angstrom and c = 9.0811(1) angstrom for 1 and a = 4.2852(1)angstrom and c = 9.4238(1)angstrom for 2. The absence of their phosphide analog can be explained based on crystal chemical considerations as well as on quantum-chemical estimates of their thermodynamic stability with respect to EuF2 and EuZn(2)Pn(2). The magnetic response of 1 and 2 is ascribed to the presence of Eu2+ ions. Both compounds are paramagnetic down to low temperatures, where they order antiferromagnetically at similar to 5 K and similar to 3 K, respectively. They are narrow-gap semiconductors, and EuFZnSb demonstrates a relatively high value of the Seebeck coefficient.