Synthesis, chiral crystal structure, and magnetic properties of Ba3Ga2O5Cl2.

A new compound, Ba3Ga2O5Cl2, isostructural with Ba3Fe2O5Cl2, was synthesized by solid-state reaction in air. Through single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analysis, the crystal structure was determined to be cubic with chiral space group I213 and unit-cell parameter a = 9.928 (1) Å. The Ga3+ ions in Ba3Ga2O5Cl2 are coordinated by O atoms and form GaO4 tetrahedra. Ten neighboring GaO4 tetrahedra are further bridged through corner sharing and rotation along the body diagonal, producing the chiral structure. Magnetization measurements indicate temperature-independent diamagnetic behavior, which is qualitatively consistent with core diamagnetism from all the constituent elements.