Metal Flux Growth of Lanthanide Carbide Hydrides Using Anthracene

James T Larson; Katelyn D Wix; Banghao Chen; Susan E Latturner

doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c01511

Metal Flux Growth of Lanthanide Carbide Hydrides Using Anthracene

Inorg Chem. 2023 Aug 21;62(33):13277-13283. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c01511. Epub 2023 Aug 6.

Authors

James T Larson¹, Katelyn D Wix¹, Banghao Chen¹, Susan E Latturner¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, United States.

PMID: 37545090
DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c01511

Abstract

Reactions of anthracene in Ln/T eutectic mixtures (Ln = La, Yb; T = Ni, Cu) have produced crystals of new complex lanthanide carbide hydride phases. The thermal decomposition of anthracene provides a source of both carbon and hydrogen. LaCH_x forms in space group Pnma with unit cell parameters a = 7.2736(4) Å, b = 3.7218(2) Å, and c = 13.0727(7) Å. Yb₂CH_x forms in space group P-3m1 with unit cell parameters a = 3.5659(4) Å and c = 5.8000(8) Å, with a structure related to that of Ho₂CF₂. The presence of hydride in interstitial sites is supported by the formation of different compounds in the absence of hydrogen and by comparison to known hydride structures. ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra collected on LaCH_x show two unique hydride resonances, in agreement with the two available interstitial sites. Density of states calculations show that filling the tetrahedral sites in LaCH_x with hydrogen increases metallic behavior, while adding hydrogen into the tetrahedral sites in Yb₂CH_x induces the formation of a band gap.