Growth and characterization of a new inorganic metal–halide crystal structure, InPb2Cl5

A new solid-state inorganic compound, indium dilead pentachloride, InPb 2 Cl 5 , was synthesized by melting InCl and PbCl 2 in a vacuum-sealed quartz ampoule. The ampoule was heated to 793 K and then slowly cooled to room temperature to induce crystallization of InPb 2 Cl 5 . InPb 2 Cl 5 crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system adopting a space group of type P 2 1 / c , which is isostructural with other metal halides such as RbPb 2 Cl 5 , KPb 2 Cl 5 and TlPb 2 Cl 5 . The bulk InPb 2 Cl 5 exhibits a metallic black/grey colour, allowing it to be separated from white/yellow PbCl 2 crystals. Due to the incongruent nature of the compound, the pure bulk InPb 2 Cl 5 was not obtained. The black/grey InPb 2 Cl 5 crystals were characterized by powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. InPbCl 3 was also explored, however the growth was unsuccessful.