Orthoborate Halides with the Formula (M+II)5(BO3)3X: Syntheses, Crystal Structures and Raman Spectra of Eu5(BO3)3Cl and Ba5(BO3)3X (X = Cl, Br)

Abstract

Single crystals of Eu5(BO3)3Cl were obtained by serendipity by reacting Eu2O3 and Mg with B2O3 at 1300 K in the presence of an NaCl melt for 13 h in silica-jacketed Nb ampoules. Ba5(BO3)3X (X = Cl, Br) crystals were formed by direct synthesis from appropriate amounts of Ba(OH)2, H3BO3 and the respective barium halide (hydrate) in alumina crucibles kept in the open atmosphere at 1300 K for 13 h. The crystal structures of the title compounds were determined with single-crystal X-ray diffraction. All compounds crystallize isotypically to Sr5(BO3)3Cl in the orthorhombic space group C2221 (no. 20, Z = 4) with the lattice parameters a = 1000.34(7), b = 1419.00(9), c = 739.48(5) pm for Eu5(BO3)3Cl, a = 1045.49(5), b = 1487.89(8), c = 787.01(4) pm for Ba5(BO3)3Cl, and a = 1048.76(7), b = 1481.13(9) and c = 801.22(5) pm for Ba5(BO3)3Br. The Raman spectra of all compounds were acquired and are presented and compared to literature data. The incremental volume of the orthoborate (BO3)3− anion has been determined and is compared to the Biltz volume