Low‐temperature phase of Ga 3 Ir: Crystal structure and chemical bonding

lt ‐Ga 3 Ir is a low‐temperature phase in the Ga−Ir system, which is stable below 530 °C. The sample of lt ‐Ga 3 Ir was obtained after annealing at 400 °C for 96 hours. The crystal structure of lt ‐Ga 3 Ir was solved using 3D‐ED electron diffraction data obtained by SA‐EDT diffraction tomography, optimized by quantum‐mechanical techniques and refined from the X‐ray powder diffraction data: structure type Fe 3 C, space group Pnma , a =6.9073(4) Å, b =7.7275(4) Å and c =4.8536(2) Å, Z =4, Pearson symbol oP 16. The striking feature of the chemical bonding is the absence of the two‐atomic Ga−Ga bonds. The two‐atomic Ga1−Ir and Ga2−Ir, as well as the three atomic Ga1−Ga2−Ir bonds, form the bonding pattern.