Ho5(SiSb)2 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Cmce space group. There are two inequivalent Ho sites. In the first Ho site, Ho(1) is bonded to three equivalent Si(1) and three equivalent Sb(1) atoms to form distorted HoSi3Sb3 pentagonal pyramids that share corners with three equivalent Ho(2)Si4Sb2 octahedra, corners with ten equivalent Ho(1)Si3Sb3 pentagonal pyramids, edges with seven equivalent Ho(1)Si3Sb3 pentagonal pyramids, faces with two equivalent Ho(2)Si4Sb2 octahedra, and faces with two equivalent Ho(1)Si3Sb3 pentagonal pyramids. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 36-41°. In the second Ho site, Ho(2) is bonded to four equivalent Si(1) and two equivalent Sb(1) atoms to form HoSi4Sb2 octahedra that share corners with four equivalent Ho(2)Si4Sb2 octahedra, corners with twelve equivalent Ho(1)Si3Sb3 pentagonal pyramids, and faces with eight equivalent Ho(1)Si3Sb3 pentagonal pyramids. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 50°. Si(1) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(2) and six equivalent Ho(1) atoms. Sb(1) is bonded to one Ho(2) and six equivalent Ho(1) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and edge-sharing SbHo7 pentagonal bipyramids.
Ho5(SiSb)2 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Cmce space group. There are two inequivalent Ho sites. In the first Ho site, Ho(1) is bonded to three equivalent Si(1) and three equivalent Sb(1) atoms to form distorted HoSi3Sb3 pentagonal pyramids that share corners with three equivalent Ho(2)Si4Sb2 octahedra, corners with ten equivalent Ho(1)Si3Sb3 pentagonal pyramids, edges with seven equivalent Ho(1)Si3Sb3 pentagonal pyramids, faces with two equivalent Ho(2)Si4Sb2 octahedra, and faces with two equivalent Ho(1)Si3Sb3 pentagonal pyramids. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 36-41°. There is one shorter (2.92 Å) and two longer (3.00 Å) Ho(1)-Si(1) bond lengths. There is one shorter (3.13 Å) and two longer (3.15 Å) Ho(1)-Sb(1) bond lengths. In the second Ho site, Ho(2) is bonded to four equivalent Si(1) and two equivalent Sb(1) atoms to form HoSi4Sb2 octahedra that share corners with four equivalent Ho(2)Si4Sb2 octahedra, corners with twelve equivalent Ho(1)Si3Sb3 pentagonal pyramids, and faces with eight equivalent Ho(1)Si3Sb3 pentagonal pyramids. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 50°. There are two shorter (3.04 Å) and two longer (3.06 Å) Ho(2)-Si(1) bond lengths. Both Ho(2)-Sb(1) bond lengths are 3.08 Å. Si(1) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(2) and six equivalent Ho(1) atoms. Sb(1) is bonded to one Ho(2) and six equivalent Ho(1) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and edge-sharing SbHo7 pentagonal bipyramids.