Growth and characterization of a new inorganic metal–halide crystal structure, InPb2Cl5

Abstract

A new solid-state inorganic compound, indium dilead pentachloride, InPb2Cl5, was synthesized by melting InCl and PbCl2 in a vacuum-sealed quartz ampoule. The ampoule was heated to 793 K and then slowly cooled to room temperature to induce crystallization of InPb2Cl5. InPb2Cl5 crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system adopting a space group of type P21/c, which is isostructural with other metal halides such as RbPb2Cl5, KPb2Cl5 and TlPb2Cl5. The bulk InPb2Cl5 exhibits a metallic black/grey colour, allowing it to be separated from white/yellow PbCl2 crystals. Due to the incongruent nature of the compound, the pure bulk InPb2Cl5 was not obtained. The black/grey InPb2Cl5 crystals were characterized by powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. InPbCl3 was also explored, however the growth was unsuccessful.