Gold derivatives of eight rare-earth-metal-rich tellurides: monoclinic R7Au2Te2 and orthorhombic R6AuTe2 types.

Two series of rare-earth-metal (R) compounds, R(7)Au(2)Te(2) (R = Tb, Dy, Ho) and R(6)AuTe(2) (R = Sc, Y, Dy, Ho, Lu), have been synthesized by high-temperature techniques and characterized by X-ray diffraction analyses as monoclinic Er(7)Au(2)Te(2)-type and orthorhombic Sc(6)PdTe(2)-type structures, respectively. Single-crystal diffraction results are reported for Ho(7)Au(2)Te(2), Lu(6)AuTe(2), Sc(6)Au(0.856(2))Te(2), and Sc(6)Au(0.892(3))Te(2). The structure of Ho(7)Au(2)Te(2) consists of columns of Au-centered tricapped trigonal prisms (TCTPs) of Ho condensed into 2D zigzag sheets that are interbridged by Te and additional Ho to form the 3D network. The structure of Lu(6)AuTe(2) is built of pairs of Au-centered Lu TCTP chains condensed with double Lu octahedra in chains into 2D zigzag sheets that are separated by Te atoms. Tight binding-linear muffin-tin orbital-atomic sphere approximation electronic structure calculations on Lu(6)AuTe(2) indicate a metallic property. The principal polar Lu-Au and Lu-Te interactions constitute 75% of the total Hamilton populations, in contrast to the small values for Lu-Lu bonding even though these comprise the majority of the atoms. A comparison of the theoretical results for Lu(6)AuTe(2) with those for isotypic Lu(6)AgTe(2) and Lu(6)CuTe(2) provides clear evidence of the greater relativistic effects in the bonding of Au. The parallels and noteworthy contrasts between Ho(7)Au(2)Te(2) (35 valence electrons) and the isotypic but much electron-richer Nb(7)P(4) (55 valence electrons) are analyzed and discussed.