RbCoCl3 crystallizes in the hexagonal P6_3/mmc space group. Rb(1) is bonded to twelve equivalent Cl(1) atoms to form RbCl12 cuboctahedra that share corners with six equivalent Rb(1)Cl12 cuboctahedra, corners with six equivalent Co(1)Cl6 octahedra, faces with eight equivalent Rb(1)Cl12 cuboctahedra, and faces with six equivalent Co(1)Cl6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 17°. Co(1) is bonded to six equivalent Cl(1) atoms to form CoCl6 octahedra that share corners with six equivalent Rb(1)Cl12 cuboctahedra, faces with six equivalent Rb(1)Cl12 cuboctahedra, and faces with two equivalent Co(1)Cl6 octahedra. Cl(1) is bonded to four equivalent Rb(1) and two equivalent Co(1) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner, face, and edge-sharing ClRb4Co2 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 0-71°.
RbCoCl3 crystallizes in the hexagonal P6_3/mmc space group. Rb(1) is bonded to twelve equivalent Cl(1) atoms to form RbCl12 cuboctahedra that share corners with six equivalent Rb(1)Cl12 cuboctahedra, corners with six equivalent Co(1)Cl6 octahedra, faces with eight equivalent Rb(1)Cl12 cuboctahedra, and faces with six equivalent Co(1)Cl6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 17°. There are six shorter (3.51 Å) and six longer (3.65 Å) Rb(1)-Cl(1) bond lengths. Co(1) is bonded to six equivalent Cl(1) atoms to form CoCl6 octahedra that share corners with six equivalent Rb(1)Cl12 cuboctahedra, faces with six equivalent Rb(1)Cl12 cuboctahedra, and faces with two equivalent Co(1)Cl6 octahedra. All Co(1)-Cl(1) bond lengths are 2.44 Å. Cl(1) is bonded to four equivalent Rb(1) and two equivalent Co(1) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner, face, and edge-sharing ClRb4Co2 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 0-71°.