Alkaline earth metal ordering in CaCu9Mg2 and SrCu9Mg2
AbstractThe copper-rich intermetallic compounds CaCu9Mg2 and SrCu9Mg2 were synthesized by induction melting of the elements and subsequent annealing in a muffle furnace. CaCu9Mg2 and SrCu9Mg2 crystallize with the TbCu9Mg2 type structure, space group P 63/mmc, which is a ternary ordered variant of CeNi3. The polycrystalline samples were characterized through their X-ray powder patterns. The CaCu9Mg2 structure was refined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. a = 504.13(9), c = 1622.5(3) pm, wR2 = 0.0635, 302 F2 values and 19 variables. The two striking coordination polyhedra in the CaCu9Mg2 structure are Ca@Cu18Mg2 and Mg@Cu12Mg3Ca. These polyhedra condense to layers which are stacked in ABA′B′ sequence. The X-ray data give no hint for Ca/Mg mixing.