Comparative Analysis of the Crystal Structures and Physical Properties of the Complex Group 14 Selenides Sr₈Ge₄Se₁₇ and Ba₈Sn₄Se₁₇

During our group's continued exploration of group 14 chalcogenides, we discovered two new compounds, Sr8Ge4Se17 and Ba8Sn4Se17. Both compounds have an 8:4:17 stoichiometric ratio but adopt different centrosymmetric crystal structures. Sr8Ge4Se17 crystallizes in the triclinic P1 space group with a = 11.8429(18) & Aring;, b = 12.172(3) & Aring;, c = 13.624(3) & Aring;, alpha = 114.472(5)(0), beta = 97.396(5)(0), gamma = 107.040(5)(0), and Z = 2. Ba8Sn4Se17 crystallizes in the monoclinic C2/c space group with a = 47.286(3) & Aring;, b = 12.6294(5) & Aring;, c = 25.7303(15) & Aring;, beta = 104.585(5)(0), and Z = 16. The unit cell of Ba8Sn4Se17 is approximately eight times larger than the unit cell of Sr8Ge4Se17, which is a consequence of the differently aligned tetrahedra, resulting in a quadrupled a axis, unchanged b axis, and doubled c axis. The lattice parameters and atomic coordinates were finalized via Rietveld refinements on data collected at a high-energy synchrotron beamline. Both compounds are semiconductors with band gaps in the visible region. Sr8Ge4Se17 and Ba8Sn4Se17 have optical band gaps of 1.88 and 1.93 eV, respectively. Both compounds have remarkably low thermal conductivities owing to their low symmetries and large unit cells. The minimum experimental thermal conductivity values of Sr8Ge4Se17 and Ba8Sn4Se17 are 0.45 W m(-1) K-1 at 321 K and 0.31 W m(-1) K-1 at 324 K, respectively.