YbF3 is alpha bismuth trifluoride structured and crystallizes in the cubic Fm-3m space group. Yb(1) is bonded in a distorted body-centered cubic geometry to six equivalent F(2) and eight equivalent F(1) atoms. There are two inequivalent F sites. In the first F site, F(1) is bonded to four equivalent Yb(1) atoms to form FYb4 tetrahedra that share corners with twelve equivalent F(2)Yb6 octahedra, corners with sixteen equivalent F(1)Yb4 tetrahedra, edges with six equivalent F(1)Yb4 tetrahedra, and faces with four equivalent F(2)Yb6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 55°. In the second F site, F(2) is bonded to six equivalent Yb(1) atoms to form FYb6 octahedra that share corners with six equivalent F(2)Yb6 octahedra, corners with twenty-four equivalent F(1)Yb4 tetrahedra, edges with twelve equivalent F(2)Yb6 octahedra, and faces with eight equivalent F(1)Yb4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra are not tilted.
YbF3 is alpha bismuth trifluoride structured and crystallizes in the cubic Fm-3m space group. Yb(1) is bonded in a distorted body-centered cubic geometry to six equivalent F(2) and eight equivalent F(1) atoms. All Yb(1)-F(2) bond lengths are 2.78 Å. All Yb(1)-F(1) bond lengths are 2.41 Å. There are two inequivalent F sites. In the first F site, F(1) is bonded to four equivalent Yb(1) atoms to form FYb4 tetrahedra that share corners with twelve equivalent F(2)Yb6 octahedra, corners with sixteen equivalent F(1)Yb4 tetrahedra, edges with six equivalent F(1)Yb4 tetrahedra, and faces with four equivalent F(2)Yb6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 55°. In the second F site, F(2) is bonded to six equivalent Yb(1) atoms to form FYb6 octahedra that share corners with six equivalent F(2)Yb6 octahedra, corners with twenty-four equivalent F(1)Yb4 tetrahedra, edges with twelve equivalent F(2)Yb6 octahedra, and faces with eight equivalent F(1)Yb4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra are not tilted.