SmNi5 crystallizes in the hexagonal P6/mmm space group. Sm(1) is bonded in a 18-coordinate geometry to six equivalent Ni(1) and twelve equivalent Ni(2) atoms. There are two inequivalent Ni sites. In the first Ni site, Ni(1) is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to three equivalent Sm(1) and six equivalent Ni(2) atoms. In the second Ni site, Ni(2) is bonded to four equivalent Sm(1), four equivalent Ni(1), and four equivalent Ni(2) atoms to form a mixture of corner, face, and edge-sharing NiSm4Ni8 cuboctahedra.
SmNi5 crystallizes in the hexagonal P6/mmm space group. Sm(1) is bonded in a 18-coordinate geometry to six equivalent Ni(1) and twelve equivalent Ni(2) atoms. All Sm(1)-Ni(1) bond lengths are 2.82 Å. All Sm(1)-Ni(2) bond lengths are 3.13 Å. There are two inequivalent Ni sites. In the first Ni site, Ni(1) is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to three equivalent Sm(1) and six equivalent Ni(2) atoms. All Ni(1)-Ni(2) bond lengths are 2.41 Å. In the second Ni site, Ni(2) is bonded to four equivalent Sm(1), four equivalent Ni(1), and four equivalent Ni(2) atoms to form a mixture of corner, face, and edge-sharing NiSm4Ni8 cuboctahedra. All Ni(2)-Ni(2) bond lengths are 2.44 Å.