LiSc(BH 4 ) 4 has been prepared by ball milling of LiBH 4 and ScCl 3 . Vibrational spectroscopy indicates the presence of discrete Sc(BH 4 ) 4 -ions. DFT calculations of this isolated complex ion confirm that it is a stable complex, and the calculated vibrational spectra agree well with the experimental ones. The four BH 4 -groups are oriented with a tilted plane of three hydrogen atoms directed to the central Sc ion, resulting in a global 8 + 4 coordination. The crystal structure obtained by high-resolution synchrotron powder diffraction reveals a tetragonal unit cell with a ) 6.076 Å and c ) 12.034 Å (space group P-42c). The local structure of the Sc(BH 4 ) 4 -complex is refined as a distorted form of the theoretical structure. The Li ions are found to be disordered along the z axis.

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