Incorporation of platinum atoms in a silicon-free boride of the YB50-type structure

• A new Pt-doped yttrium boride has been synthesized.
• Platinum is located in two interstitial atom sites, one of which exhibits high degree of occupancy.
• Insertion of platinum induces significant changes into boron atom framework.
• Partially occupied Pt atom sites interlink the [B11] and [B13] units.

A new Pt-doped yttrium boride of the YB50 family, YB45−xPty, x = 2.12, y = 0.21 (space group Pbam, a = 16.6246 (4) Å, b = 17.6453 (4) Å, c = 9.4167 (2) Å), has been synthesized by arc-melting pure elements and subsequent annealing at 1123 K. A single crystal has been studied in order to assess the Pt-doping effect on the crystal structure. Insertion of Pt in two 4h interstitial sites of the boron atom framework leads to the transformation of –[B12]–[B12]– icosahedral chain into –[B11]–Pt–[B11]– for 38.6% of them as well as, to a lesser extent, induces disorder into the [B15] polyhedron and neighboring interstitial B site (97.3% vs 2.7%).

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