SmMo6S8 crystallizes in the trigonal R-3 space group. Sm(1) is bonded in a body-centered cubic geometry to two equivalent S(2) and six equivalent S(1) atoms. Mo(1) is bonded to one S(2) and four equivalent S(1) atoms to form a mixture of distorted edge and corner-sharing MoS5 square pyramids. There are two inequivalent S sites. In the first S site, S(1) is bonded in a distorted pentagonal planar geometry to one Sm(1) and four equivalent Mo(1) atoms. In the second S site, S(2) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one Sm(1) and three equivalent Mo(1) atoms.
SmMo6S8 crystallizes in the trigonal R-3 space group. Sm(1) is bonded in a body-centered cubic geometry to two equivalent S(2) and six equivalent S(1) atoms. Both Sm(1)-S(2) bond lengths are 2.76 Å. All Sm(1)-S(1) bond lengths are 3.02 Å. Mo(1) is bonded to one S(2) and four equivalent S(1) atoms to form a mixture of distorted edge and corner-sharing MoS5 square pyramids. The Mo(1)-S(2) bond length is 2.40 Å. There are a spread of Mo(1)-S(1) bond distances ranging from 2.44-2.60 Å. There are two inequivalent S sites. In the first S site, S(1) is bonded in a distorted pentagonal planar geometry to one Sm(1) and four equivalent Mo(1) atoms. In the second S site, S(2) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one Sm(1) and three equivalent Mo(1) atoms.