Growth and characterization of a new inorganic metal–halide crystal structure, InPb(2)Cl(5)

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 P2(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.