Ba11La4Br34: a new barium lanthanum bromide

The structure of the title compound, barium lanthanum bromide (11/4/34), can be derived from the fluorite structure. The asymmetric unit contains two Ba sites (one with site symmetry 4/m..), one La site (site symmetry 4..), one mixed-occupied Ba and La site (ratio 1:1, site symmetry m..) and six Br sites (one with site symmetry \=4.., one with 2.., one with m.., the latter being disordered over two positions with a 0.86:0.14 ratio). The fundamental building units of the structure are edge-sharing polyhedral clusters made up of Ba and La bromide clusters inter­connected to BaBr8 square prisms and BaBr10 groups

Room-temperature scintillation properties of cerium-doped REOX (RE=Y, La, Gd, and Lu; X=F, Cl, Br, and I)

The scintillation properties of cerium-doped oxyhalides following the general formula REOX (RE=Y, La, Gd, and Lu; X=F, Cl, Br, and I) are reported. These materials were synthesized under dry conditions as microcrystalline powders from conventional solid state reactions. The room temperature X-ray excited emission and scintillation decay curves were measured and analyzed for each material. Additionally, the hygroscopic nature of the oxychlorides and oxybromides was compared to that of their corresponding rare earth halides. The yttrium, lanthanum, and gadolinium oxychlorides, and all of the oxybromides and oxyiodides are found to be activated by Ce{sup 3+}. GdOBr doped with 0.5% Ce{sup 3+} has the highest light output with a relative luminosity of about one-half that of LaBr{sub 3}: Ce{sup 3+}. It displays a single exponential decay of 30 ns