Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Bonding Analysis of the Hypoelectronic Cubic Phase Ca5Pd6Ge6

The title compound, Ca5Pd6Ge6, was obtained during a systematic investigation of the Ca–Pd–Ge ternary phase diagram. The crystal structure was determined and refined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. It crystallizes in a new structure variant of the Y4PdGa12-type structure (Im3̅m, a = 8.7764(4) Å) that features an arrangement of vertex-sharing body-centered cubes of calcium, Ca@Ca8, with a hierarchical bcc network, interpenetrating a second (Pd6Ge6) network consisting of Ge2 dumbbells surrounded by Pd in a strongly flattened octahedron with Pd­(μ2-η2,η4-Ge2)-like motifs. These octahedra are condensed through the Pd to form a 3D open fcc network. Theoretical band structure calculations suggested that the compound is hypoelectronic with predominantly multicenter-type interatomic interactions involving all three elements and essentially a Hume–Rothery-like regime of electronic stabilization. The similar electronegativity between germanium and palladium atoms has a decisive impact on the bonding picture of the system.