A study of new rare-earth metal group-13 chalcohalides. Structures, chemistry, and optical properties

Full text: Several new quaternary compounds from the rare-earth metal group-13 chalcohalide family have been prepared from alkaline earth halide flux reactions of binary and elemental starting materials. One compound, for example, Ca2La6Ga2S14 , crystallizes as needles in an hexagonal cell while another, more disordered structure, La11Ga19Cl6S42 , crystallizes as monoclinic plates. The former is a condensed structure with channels that contain the alkaline earth element while the latter forms a layered structure containing rare-earth halide clusters within interlayer galleries. These compounds are new members of a family of rare-earth metal main-group chalcogenides which show promise as electroluminescent materials. Structural and spectroscopic studies of these and related compounds will be discussed