Yb(CuTe)3 crystallizes in the trigonal R-3 space group. Yb(1) is bonded to six equivalent Te(1) atoms to form YbTe6 octahedra that share corners with twelve equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra, edges with three equivalent Yb(1)Te6 octahedra, and edges with six equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra. Cu(1) is bonded to four equivalent Te(1) atoms to form distorted CuTe4 tetrahedra that share corners with four equivalent Yb(1)Te6 octahedra, corners with six equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Yb(1)Te6 octahedra, and edges with three equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 18-55°. Te(1) is bonded to two equivalent Yb(1) and four equivalent Cu(1) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and edge-sharing TeYb2Cu4 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 2-89°.
Yb(CuTe)3 crystallizes in the trigonal R-3 space group. Yb(1) is bonded to six equivalent Te(1) atoms to form YbTe6 octahedra that share corners with twelve equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra, edges with three equivalent Yb(1)Te6 octahedra, and edges with six equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra. All Yb(1)-Te(1) bond lengths are 3.13 Å. Cu(1) is bonded to four equivalent Te(1) atoms to form distorted CuTe4 tetrahedra that share corners with four equivalent Yb(1)Te6 octahedra, corners with six equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Yb(1)Te6 octahedra, and edges with three equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 18-55°. There are a spread of Cu(1)-Te(1) bond distances ranging from 2.62-2.67 Å. Te(1) is bonded to two equivalent Yb(1) and four equivalent Cu(1) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and edge-sharing TeYb2Cu4 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 2-89°.