YbLaS3 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Cmcm space group. Yb(1) is bonded to two equivalent S(1) and four equivalent S(2) atoms to form a mixture of edge and corner-sharing YbS6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 69°. La(1) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to two equivalent S(1) and six equivalent S(2) atoms. There are two inequivalent S sites. In the first S site, S(1) is bonded to two equivalent Yb(1) and two equivalent La(1) atoms to form SLa2Yb2 tetrahedra that share corners with eight equivalent S(2)La3Yb2 square pyramids, corners with four equivalent S(1)La2Yb2 tetrahedra, and edges with six equivalent S(2)La3Yb2 square pyramids. In the second S site, S(2) is bonded to two equivalent Yb(1) and three equivalent La(1) atoms to form distorted SLa3Yb2 square pyramids that share corners with nine equivalent S(2)La3Yb2 square pyramids, corners with four equivalent S(1)La2Yb2 tetrahedra, edges with six equivalent S(2)La3Yb2 square pyramids, and edges with three equivalent S(1)La2Yb2 tetrahedra.
YbLaS3 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Cmcm space group. Yb(1) is bonded to two equivalent S(1) and four equivalent S(2) atoms to form a mixture of edge and corner-sharing YbS6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 69°. Both Yb(1)-S(1) bond lengths are 2.69 Å. All Yb(1)-S(2) bond lengths are 2.89 Å. La(1) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to two equivalent S(1) and six equivalent S(2) atoms. Both La(1)-S(1) bond lengths are 2.80 Å. There are four shorter (2.98 Å) and two longer (3.35 Å) La(1)-S(2) bond lengths. There are two inequivalent S sites. In the first S site, S(1) is bonded to two equivalent Yb(1) and two equivalent La(1) atoms to form SLa2Yb2 tetrahedra that share corners with eight equivalent S(2)La3Yb2 square pyramids, corners with four equivalent S(1)La2Yb2 tetrahedra, and edges with six equivalent S(2)La3Yb2 square pyramids. In the second S site, S(2) is bonded to two equivalent Yb(1) and three equivalent La(1) atoms to form distorted SLa3Yb2 square pyramids that share corners with nine equivalent S(2)La3Yb2 square pyramids, corners with four equivalent S(1)La2Yb2 tetrahedra, edges with six equivalent S(2)La3Yb2 square pyramids, and edges with three equivalent S(1)La2Yb2 tetrahedra.