Syntheses and Structural Characterization of Multi-component Chalcogenide Compounds Based on Pyridine/1,2-Ethanedithiol Solvent

Reactions of Sn powder, cadmium iodide, rubidium carbonate, and sodium sulfide yielded two new compounds: three-dimensional chalcogenide RbNa3Cd2Sn2S8 (1) and layered ternary compound Na2CdS2 (2). 1 and 2 have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction: 1 belongs to the orthorhombic space group Pca21, with a = 13.486(3), b = 6.7310(14), c = 18.401(4) A and Z = 4; 2 crystallizes in the R 3 m space group, with a = 3.718(3), c = 26.170(4) A and Z = 3. Study of the yellow block shaped crystals of 1 reveals that the structure consists of tetrahedral CdS4 and SnS4. The {Cd2Sn2S8} cluster shows a 12-numbered ring structure assembled by corner-sharing of alternating SnS4 and CdS4, and the rubidium and sodium ions act as void-filling and charge compensating cations. The dark orange hexagonal crystal of compound 2 consists of a unique 1 ∞ [CdS2] 2layer, which are separated by the Na. UV/Vis absorption spectrum exhibits the materials 1 and 2 have semiconductor properties.