Zigzag octahedral cluster chains in BaMo6O10

A novel ternary molybdenum oxide, BaMo6O10, was discovered and its crystal structure was determined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. BaMo6O10 crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma with a = 10.154(2), b = 8.641(2), c = 9.184(2)Å, V = 805.7(3)Å3, Z = 4, R = 0.0438, Rw = 0.0401 for 652 independent reflections with I > 3.0σ(I). The structure contains infinite zigzag molybdenum oxide chains built up from M6X12-type clusters, crosslinked to form channels where Ba2+ cations reside. Bond distance analysis results indicate that BaMo6O10 is perfectly bonded with all valence electrons of the Mo atoms in either MoMo or MoO bonding states.