Crystal Structure and Magnetic Property of a Quaternary Sulfide, Al0.36Sm3Ge0.98S7

A new quaternary sulfide, Al0.36Sm3Ge0.98S7 1, has been prepared by a facile solid- state reaction, and its crystal structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. It crystallizes in the hexagonal space group P63 with a = 9.964(1), c = 5.768(2) , V = 495.9(1) 3 and Z = 2. In the crystal structure of 1, Al3+ and Ge4+ occupy the octahedral and tetrahedral interspaces of the 3-D main-framework constructed by SmS8 bicapped trigonal prisms, respectively. The investigation of optical and magnetic properties of 1 indicates that its optical band gap is 2.18 eV and it shows antiferromagnetic-like interaction.