Yb8Cl17 is Baddeleyite-like structured and crystallizes in the monoclinic C2/c space group. There are four inequivalent Yb sites. In the first Yb site, Yb(1) is bonded to two equivalent Cl(5), two equivalent Cl(8), and three equivalent Cl(6) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and edge-sharing YbCl7 pentagonal bipyramids. In the second Yb site, Yb(2) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to one Cl(1), two equivalent Cl(4), two equivalent Cl(9), and three equivalent Cl(2) atoms. In the third Yb site, Yb(3) is bonded to one Cl(7), two equivalent Cl(1), two equivalent Cl(3), and two equivalent Cl(4) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and edge-sharing YbCl7 pentagonal bipyramids. In the fourth Yb site, Yb(4) is bonded to one Cl(8), two equivalent Cl(3), two equivalent Cl(5), and two equivalent Cl(7) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and edge-sharing YbCl7 pentagonal bipyramids. There are nine inequivalent Cl sites. In the first Cl site, Cl(1) is bonded in a distorted trigonal planar geometry to one Yb(2) and two equivalent Yb(3) atoms. In the second Cl site, Cl(2) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to three equivalent Yb(2) atoms. In the third Cl site, Cl(3) is bonded to two equivalent Yb(3) and two equivalent Yb(4) atoms to form a mixture of corner and edge-sharing ClYb4 tetrahedra. In the fourth Cl site, Cl(4) is bonded to two equivalent Yb(2) and two equivalent Yb(3) atoms to form a mixture of corner and edge-sharing ClYb4 tetrahedra. In the fifth Cl site, Cl(5) is bonded to two equivalent Yb(1) and two equivalent Yb(4) atoms to form a mixture of corner and edge-sharing ClYb4 tetrahedra. In the sixth Cl site, Cl(6) is bonded in a trigonal non-coplanar geometry to three equivalent Yb(1) atoms. In the seventh Cl site, Cl(7) is bonded in a trigonal planar geometry to one Yb(3) and two equivalent Yb(4) atoms. In the eighth Cl site, Cl(8) is bonded in a trigonal planar geometry to one Yb(4) and two equivalent Yb(1) atoms. In the ninth Cl site, Cl(9) is bonded to four equivalent Yb(2) atoms to form a mixture of corner and edge-sharing ClYb4 tetrahedra.
Yb8Cl17 is Baddeleyite-like structured and crystallizes in the monoclinic C2/c space group. There are four inequivalent Yb sites. In the first Yb site, Yb(1) is bonded to two equivalent Cl(5), two equivalent Cl(8), and three equivalent Cl(6) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and edge-sharing YbCl7 pentagonal bipyramids. There is one shorter (2.80 Å) and one longer (3.00 Å) Yb(1)-Cl(5) bond length. There is one shorter (2.76 Å) and one longer (2.78 Å) Yb(1)-Cl(8) bond length. There are a spread of Yb(1)-Cl(6) bond distances ranging from 2.74-2.81 Å. In the second Yb site, Yb(2) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to one Cl(1), two equivalent Cl(4), two equivalent Cl(9), and three equivalent Cl(2) atoms. The Yb(2)-Cl(1) bond length is 2.97 Å. There is one shorter (2.81 Å) and one longer (2.84 Å) Yb(2)-Cl(4) bond length. There is one shorter (2.83 Å) and one longer (2.85 Å) Yb(2)-Cl(9) bond length. There are two shorter (2.71 Å) and one longer (3.27 Å) Yb(2)-Cl(2) bond length. In the third Yb site, Yb(3) is bonded to one Cl(7), two equivalent Cl(1), two equivalent Cl(3), and two equivalent Cl(4) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and edge-sharing YbCl7 pentagonal bipyramids. The Yb(3)-Cl(7) bond length is 2.83 Å. There is one shorter (2.73 Å) and one longer (2.74 Å) Yb(3)-Cl(1) bond length. There is one shorter (2.82 Å) and one longer (2.83 Å) Yb(3)-Cl(3) bond length. There is one shorter (2.84 Å) and one longer (2.88 Å) Yb(3)-Cl(4) bond length. In the fourth Yb site, Yb(4) is bonded to one Cl(8), two equivalent Cl(3), two equivalent Cl(5), and two equivalent Cl(7) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and edge-sharing YbCl7 pentagonal bipyramids. The Yb(4)-Cl(8) bond length is 2.77 Å. There is one shorter (2.85 Å) and one longer (2.89 Å) Yb(4)-Cl(3) bond length. There is one shorter (2.81 Å) and one longer (2.85 Å) Yb(4)-Cl(5) bond length. There is one shorter (2.75 Å) and one longer (2.77 Å) Yb(4)-Cl(7) bond length. There are nine inequivalent Cl sites. In the first Cl site, Cl(1) is bonded in a distorted trigonal planar geometry to one Yb(2) and two equivalent Yb(3) atoms. In the second Cl site, Cl(2) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to three equivalent Yb(2) atoms. In the third Cl site, Cl(3) is bonded to two equivalent Yb(3) and two equivalent Yb(4) atoms to form a mixture of corner and edge-sharing ClYb4 tetrahedra. In the fourth Cl site, Cl(4) is bonded to two equivalent Yb(2) and two equivalent Yb(3) atoms to form a mixture of corner and edge-sharing ClYb4 tetrahedra. In the fifth Cl site, Cl(5) is bonded to two equivalent Yb(1) and two equivalent Yb(4) atoms to form a mixture of corner and edge-sharing ClYb4 tetrahedra. In the sixth Cl site, Cl(6) is bonded in a trigonal non-coplanar geometry to three equivalent Yb(1) atoms. In the seventh Cl site, Cl(7) is bonded in a trigonal planar geometry to one Yb(3) and two equivalent Yb(4) atoms. In the eighth Cl site, Cl(8) is bonded in a trigonal planar geometry to one Yb(4) and two equivalent Yb(1) atoms. In the ninth Cl site, Cl(9) is bonded to four equivalent Yb(2) atoms to form a mixture of corner and edge-sharing ClYb4 tetrahedra.