SYNTHESIS AND STRUCTURE OF NB3SITE6, A NEW LAYERED TERNARY NIOBIUM TELLURIDE COMPOUND

Nb3SiTe6, a new type of layered ternary telluride compound, has been synthesized. The structure is determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. The compound crystallizes in space group Pnma (No. 62) with Z = 4, a = 6.353(2) angstrom, b = 13.938(5) angstrom, c = 11.507(4) angstrom, V = 1018.9(6) angstrom3, R = 4.77% and R(w) = 4.88%. The structure contains sheets of mixed niobium and silicon with tellurium atoms capping both sides. The layered framework has an unusual coordination environment.