YCuTe2 crystallizes in the monoclinic P2/m space group. There are two inequivalent Y sites. In the first Y site, Y(1) is bonded to two equivalent Te(1) and four equivalent Te(2) atoms to form distorted YTe6 octahedra that share corners with four equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Y(1)Te6 octahedra, edges with four equivalent Y(2)Te6 octahedra, and edges with four equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra. In the second Y site, Y(2) is bonded to two equivalent Te(2) and four equivalent Te(1) atoms to form distorted YTe6 octahedra that share corners with eight equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Y(2)Te6 octahedra, edges with four equivalent Y(1)Te6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra. Cu(1) is bonded to two equivalent Te(1) and two equivalent Te(2) atoms to form distorted CuTe4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent Y(1)Te6 octahedra, corners with four equivalent Y(2)Te6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra,  an edgeedge with one Y(2)Te6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Y(1)Te6 octahedra, and  an edgeedge with one Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 22-56°. There are two inequivalent Te sites. In the first Te site, Te(1) is bonded to one Y(1), two equivalent Y(2), and two equivalent Cu(1) atoms to form a mixture of corner and edge-sharing TeY3Cu2 square pyramids. In the second Te site, Te(2) is bonded to one Y(2), two equivalent Y(1), and two equivalent Cu(1) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and edge-sharing TeY3Cu2 square pyramids.
YCuTe2 crystallizes in the monoclinic P2/m space group. There are two inequivalent Y sites. In the first Y site, Y(1) is bonded to two equivalent Te(1) and four equivalent Te(2) atoms to form distorted YTe6 octahedra that share corners with four equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Y(1)Te6 octahedra, edges with four equivalent Y(2)Te6 octahedra, and edges with four equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra. Both Y(1)-Te(1) bond lengths are 3.12 Å. All Y(1)-Te(2) bond lengths are 3.09 Å. In the second Y site, Y(2) is bonded to two equivalent Te(2) and four equivalent Te(1) atoms to form distorted YTe6 octahedra that share corners with eight equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Y(2)Te6 octahedra, edges with four equivalent Y(1)Te6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra. Both Y(2)-Te(2) bond lengths are 3.06 Å. All Y(2)-Te(1) bond lengths are 3.08 Å. Cu(1) is bonded to two equivalent Te(1) and two equivalent Te(2) atoms to form distorted CuTe4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent Y(1)Te6 octahedra, corners with four equivalent Y(2)Te6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra,  an edgeedge with one Y(2)Te6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Y(1)Te6 octahedra, and  an edgeedge with one Cu(1)Te4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 22-56°. Both Cu(1)-Te(1) bond lengths are 2.60 Å. There is one shorter (2.60 Å) and one longer (2.66 Å) Cu(1)-Te(2) bond length. There are two inequivalent Te sites. In the first Te site, Te(1) is bonded to one Y(1), two equivalent Y(2), and two equivalent Cu(1) atoms to form a mixture of corner and edge-sharing TeY3Cu2 square pyramids. In the second Te site, Te(2) is bonded to one Y(2), two equivalent Y(1), and two equivalent Cu(1) atoms to form a mixture of distorted corner and edge-sharing TeY3Cu2 square pyramids.