Ce4B2C2F0.14H2.26: Cerium Borocarbides with Fluoride and Hydride Interstitials Grown from Ce/Cu Flux

Fluoride interstitials were introduced into an intermetallic structure by carrying out metal flux growth in the presence of a fluorocarbon. Decafluorobiphenyl and anthracene were reacted with boron in a melt composed of cerium and copper, yielding crystals of Ce4B2C2F0.14H2.26, a fluorinated analogue of previously reported Ce4B2C2H2.42. The siting and occupancies of the fluoride and hydride interstitials were confirmed using both single-crystal X-ray diffraction and neutron diffraction. The fluoride mixes with the hydride in an octahedral interstitial site surrounded by cerium cations; additional hydride ions occupy the tetrahedral sites. Magnetic susceptibility shows a change from canted antiferromagnetic ordering reported for the hydride to paramagnetic behavior upon fluorine substitution.