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I see tons of papers referencing this structure but none show what it looks like.

F'x
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user17338
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2 Answers2

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You can look at the $\text{Sm}_5 \text{Ge}_4$ crystal structure at Materials Project here.

enter image description here

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In Crystal structure of Sm5Ge4, the structure is described as orthorhombic with $a = 7.75\,\mathring{A}$, $b = 14.94\,\mathring{A}$ and $c = 7.84\,\mathring{A}$, having four $\ce{Sm5Ge4}$ units per unit cell. The authors further denote:

The structure is conveniently described in terms of three layers which occur along the $b$ axis. Layer $G$ contains $\ce{Ge}$ atoms only; layer $S$ $\ce{Sm}$ atoms only Layer $C$ is a combination of $G$ and $S$, but with the roles of $\ce{Ge}$ and $\ce{Sm}$ interchanged. Layer $C$ serves as a mirror plane in $Pnma$, but only as a quasi-mirror plane in $Pn2_1a$. [...]

(Personally, I find it a bit irritating that this article from 1967, which seemingly is the original reference, is not directly cited on the Materials Project page.)

Klaus-Dieter Warzecha
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