Syntheses and structures of the quaternary copper tellurides K₃Ln₄Cu₅Te₁₀ (Ln = Sm, Gd, Er), Rb₃Ln₄Cu₅Te₁₀ (Ln = Nd, Gd), and Cs₃Gd₄Cu₅Te₁₀

Six quaternary alkali-metal rare-earth copper tellurides K₃Ln₄Cu₅Te₁₀ (Ln=Sm, Gd, Er), Rb₃Ln₄Cu₅Te₁₀ (Ln=Nd, Gd), and Cs₃Gd₄Cu₅Te₁₀ have been synthesized at 1123 K with the use of reactive fluxes of alkali-metal halides ACl (A=K, Rb, Cs). All crystallographic data were collected at 153 K. These compounds crystallize in space group Pnnm of the orthorhombic system with two formula units in cells of dimensions (A₃Ln₄, a, b, c (Å)): K₃Sm₄, 16.590(2), 17.877(2), 4.3516(5); K₃Gd₄, 16.552(4), 17.767(4), 4.3294(9); K₃Er₄, 16.460(4), 17.550(4), 4.2926(9); Rb₃Nd₄, 17.356(1), 17.820(1), 4.3811(3); Rb₃Gd₄, 17.201(2), 17.586(2), 4.3429(6); Cs₃Gd₄, 17.512(1), 17.764(1), 4.3697(3). The corresponding R₁ indices for the refined structures are 0.0346, 0.0315, 0.0212, 0.0268, 0.0289, and 0.0411. The three K₃Ln₄Cu₅Te₁₀ structures belong to one structure type and the Rb₃Ln₄Cu₅Te₁₀ (Ln=Nd, Gd) and Cs₃Gd₄Cu₅Te₁₀ structures belong to another one, the difference being the location of one of the three unique Cu atoms. Both structure types are three-dimensional tunnel structures that contain similar Ln/Te fragments built from LnTe₆ octahedra and CuTe₄ tetrahedra. The CuTe₄ tetrahedra form _∞¹[CuTe₃^5-] and _∞¹[CuTe₂^3-] chains. The alkali-metal atoms, which are in the tunnels, are coordinated to seven or eight Te atoms.