Ba2CdTe3 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group. There are two inequivalent Ba sites. In the first Ba site, Ba(1) is bonded to one Te(3), three equivalent Te(1), and three equivalent Te(2) atoms to form distorted BaTe7 pentagonal bipyramids that share corners with four equivalent Cd(1)Te4 tetrahedra, edges with six equivalent Ba(1)Te7 pentagonal bipyramids, and edges with three equivalent Cd(1)Te4 tetrahedra. In the second Ba site, Ba(2) is bonded in a 7-coordinate geometry to one Te(2), two equivalent Te(1), and four equivalent Te(3) atoms. Cd(1) is bonded to one Te(1), one Te(3), and two equivalent Te(2) atoms to form CdTe4 tetrahedra that share corners with four equivalent Ba(1)Te7 pentagonal bipyramids, corners with two equivalent Cd(1)Te4 tetrahedra, and edges with three equivalent Ba(1)Te7 pentagonal bipyramids. There are three inequivalent Te sites. In the first Te site, Te(1) is bonded to two equivalent Ba(2), three equivalent Ba(1), and one Cd(1) atom to form distorted TeBa5Cd octahedra that share corners with six equivalent Te(3)Ba5Cd octahedra, corners with seven equivalent Te(2)Ba4Cd2 octahedra, edges with three equivalent Te(2)Ba4Cd2 octahedra, edges with four equivalent Te(1)Ba5Cd octahedra, and faces with two equivalent Te(3)Ba5Cd octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 23-57°. In the second Te site, Te(2) is bonded to one Ba(2), three equivalent Ba(1), and two equivalent Cd(1) atoms to form distorted TeBa4Cd2 octahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Te(3)Ba5Cd octahedra, corners with seven equivalent Te(1)Ba5Cd octahedra, edges with three equivalent Te(1)Ba5Cd octahedra, edges with four equivalent Te(2)Ba4Cd2 octahedra, and edges with four equivalent Te(3)Ba5Cd octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 23-53°. In the third Te site, Te(3) is bonded to one Ba(1), four equivalent Ba(2), and one Cd(1) atom to form TeBa5Cd octahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Te(2)Ba4Cd2 octahedra, corners with four equivalent Te(3)Ba5Cd octahedra, corners with six equivalent Te(1)Ba5Cd octahedra, edges with four equivalent Te(2)Ba4Cd2 octahedra, edges with four equivalent Te(3)Ba5Cd octahedra, and faces with two equivalent Te(1)Ba5Cd octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 23-57°.
Ba2CdTe3 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group. There are two inequivalent Ba sites. In the first Ba site, Ba(1) is bonded to one Te(3), three equivalent Te(1), and three equivalent Te(2) atoms to form distorted BaTe7 pentagonal bipyramids that share corners with four equivalent Cd(1)Te4 tetrahedra, edges with six equivalent Ba(1)Te7 pentagonal bipyramids, and edges with three equivalent Cd(1)Te4 tetrahedra. The Ba(1)-Te(3) bond length is 3.59 Å. There are two shorter (3.47 Å) and one longer (3.66 Å) Ba(1)-Te(1) bond length. There are two shorter (3.61 Å) and one longer (3.71 Å) Ba(1)-Te(2) bond length. In the second Ba site, Ba(2) is bonded in a 7-coordinate geometry to one Te(2), two equivalent Te(1), and four equivalent Te(3) atoms. The Ba(2)-Te(2) bond length is 3.71 Å. Both Ba(2)-Te(1) bond lengths are 3.69 Å. All Ba(2)-Te(3) bond lengths are 3.59 Å. Cd(1) is bonded to one Te(1), one Te(3), and two equivalent Te(2) atoms to form CdTe4 tetrahedra that share corners with four equivalent Ba(1)Te7 pentagonal bipyramids, corners with two equivalent Cd(1)Te4 tetrahedra, and edges with three equivalent Ba(1)Te7 pentagonal bipyramids. The Cd(1)-Te(1) bond length is 2.85 Å. The Cd(1)-Te(3) bond length is 2.85 Å. Both Cd(1)-Te(2) bond lengths are 2.90 Å. There are three inequivalent Te sites. In the first Te site, Te(1) is bonded to two equivalent Ba(2), three equivalent Ba(1), and one Cd(1) atom to form distorted TeBa5Cd octahedra that share corners with six equivalent Te(3)Ba5Cd octahedra, corners with seven equivalent Te(2)Ba4Cd2 octahedra, edges with three equivalent Te(2)Ba4Cd2 octahedra, edges with four equivalent Te(1)Ba5Cd octahedra, and faces with two equivalent Te(3)Ba5Cd octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 23-57°. In the second Te site, Te(2) is bonded to one Ba(2), three equivalent Ba(1), and two equivalent Cd(1) atoms to form distorted TeBa4Cd2 octahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Te(3)Ba5Cd octahedra, corners with seven equivalent Te(1)Ba5Cd octahedra, edges with three equivalent Te(1)Ba5Cd octahedra, edges with four equivalent Te(2)Ba4Cd2 octahedra, and edges with four equivalent Te(3)Ba5Cd octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 23-53°. In the third Te site, Te(3) is bonded to one Ba(1), four equivalent Ba(2), and one Cd(1) atom to form TeBa5Cd octahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Te(2)Ba4Cd2 octahedra, corners with four equivalent Te(3)Ba5Cd octahedra, corners with six equivalent Te(1)Ba5Cd octahedra, edges with four equivalent Te(2)Ba4Cd2 octahedra, edges with four equivalent Te(3)Ba5Cd octahedra, and faces with two equivalent Te(1)Ba5Cd octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 23-57°.