Synthesis and crystal structure determination of the new olivine-type compound Mn2SnSe4

Abstract

The Mn2SnSe4 compound, manganese tin selenide, was synthesized by the melt and annealing technique and its structure was refined by the Rietveld method using X-ray powder diffraction data. This compound crystallizes in the olivine-type structure with unit cell parameters a = 12:9028(2) A, b = 7:9001(1) A, c = 6:5015(1) A, V = 662:72(2) A3 in the orthorhombic space group Pnma (N° 62). This olivine structure can be described from a hexagonal close-packing of selenium atoms where manganese atoms occupy 1/2 of the octahedral sites while thin atoms lay in 1/8 of the tetrahedra.