UPTe, ThPTe and U₂PTe₂O: actinide pnictide chalcogenides with diphosphide anions

Crystal structure determination of UPTe revealed a UGeTe derivative structure with a pseudo-tetragonal unit cell with lattice parameters a = 410.1(1) pm and c = 1697.1(1) pm at 120(2) K. ThPTe can be regarded as isotypic according to powder X-ray diffraction data, its pseudo-tetragonal lattice parameters are a = 425.05(1) pm and c = 1726.8(1) pm at 296(1) K. Real-space topological analysis of the chemical bonding and Raman data reveal the presence of P₂ units. U₂PTe₂O can be considered as a partially oxidised phosphide telluride with a pseudo-tetragonal unit cell, a = 403.7(1) pm, and c = 3206.8(10) pm at 120(2) K. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction data of UPTe and U₂PTe₂O indicate an ordered orientation of the P₂ dumbbells leading to a monoclinic distortion, which implies a symmetry decrease to space group I11m. (Copyright copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)