Ordered distribution of I and Cl in the low-temperature crystal structure of mutnovskite, Pb4As2S6ICl: An X-ray single-crystal study

To study the temperature-dependent structural changes and to analyze the crystal chemical behavior of the halogens as a function of temperature, a crystal of the recently discovered mineral mutnovskite, ideally Pb2AsS3(I,Cl,Br), has been investigated by X-ray single-crystal diffraction methods at 300 and 110 K. At room temperature (RT) mutnovskite was confirmed to possess a centrosymmetric structure-type, space group Pnma, while at low temperature (110 K) it adopts a non-centrosymmetric orthorhombic structure-type, space group Pnm21, with a=11.5394(9) Å, b=6.6732(5) Å, c=9.3454(7) Å, V=719.64(9) Å3 and Z=2. Mutnovskite reconverts to the centrosymmetric-type upon returning to RT thus indicating that the phase transition is completely reversible in character. The refinement of the LT-structure leads to a residual factor R=0.0336 for 1827 independent observed reflections [Fo>4σ(Fo)] and 80 variables. The crystal structure of cooled mutnovskite is topologically identical to that observed at RT and the slight structural changes occurring during the phase transition Pnma→Pnm21 are mainly restricted to the coordination polyhedra around Pb. The structure solution revealed that I and Cl are ordered into two specific sites. Indeed, the unique mixed (I,Cl) position in the RT-structure (Wyckoff position 4c) transforms into two 2a Wyckoff positions in the LT-structure hosting I and Cl, respectively.

Graphical abstractIn the crystal structure of mutnovskite at 110 K the two halogens I and Cl are ordered into two specific sites and only slight changes in the coordination environment around Pb atoms occur during the phase transition Pnma→Pnm21 from the RT-structure to the LT-structure. Two kinds of layers alternating along a are present in the LT-structure: Layer I contains Cl atoms and [001] columns of Pb1 and Pb4 prisms, layer II contains I atoms and [001] columns of Pb2 and Pb3 prisms.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide