Intermetallic phases in the Sc–Ir–In system – synthesis and structure of Sc1.024Ir2In0.976 and Sc3Ir1.467In4

The intermetallic scandium compounds Sc1.024Ir2In0.976 and Sc3Ir1.467In4 were synthesized by reactions of the elements in sealed tantalum ampoules at high temperature followed by annealing for crystal growth. Both structures were refined from single-crystal X-ray diffractometer data: MnCu2Al type, F m 3 ‾ m $Fm‾{3}m$ , a = 639.97(19) pm, wR2 = 0.0376, 41 F 2 values, seven variables for Sc1.024Ir2In0.976 and P 6 ‾ $P‾{6}$ , a = 769.99(5), c = 684.71(4) pm, wR2 = 0.0371, 967 F 2 values, 33 variables for Sc3Ir1.467In4. Sc1.024Ir2In0.976 is a new Heusler phase with a small homogeneity range due to Sc/In and In/Sc mixing. The structure of Sc3Ir1.467In4 is closely related to that of Sc3Rh1.594In4 and belongs to the large family of ZrNiAl superstructures. The striking structural motif is the ordered stacking of empty In6 and filled Ir@In6 prisms with Ir–In distances of 269 pm.

Phase equilibria in the YFeO3 – YСoO3 system in air

YFe1-xСоxO3 solid solutions were prepared by glycerol-nitrate technique. The homogeneity range of solid solutions was studied within the temperature range 1173 – 1573 K. A continues series of solid solution below the decomposition temperature of YСоO3, which was shown to be equal to 1266 ± 6 K, begins to narrow at higher temperatures and becomes equal to 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1 at 1573 K. The phase diagram of the YFeO3 – YСoO3 system in the “T – composition” coordinates was divided into three fields. Similar to the parent ternary oxides, all single-phase YFe1-xСоxO3 solid solutions possess orthorhombically distorted perovskite structure (Pnma space group). Unusual behavior of orthorhombic distortions in YFe1-xСоxO3 with temperature was explained by probable changes in spin state of Co3+ ions.

γ-Brass type structures with I- and P-cell in the ternary Cu–Zn–In system

Abstractγ-Brass type phases in Cu–Zn–In ternary system were synthesized from the highly pure elements by conventional solid-state synthesis and characterized by X-ray diffraction and EDX analysis. Diffraction analysis confirmed the existence of cubic γ-brass type phases with I- and P-cell having a significant homogeneity range in the ternary Cu–Zn–In system. The phase homogeneity is connected with structural disorder based on mixed site occupancies. Site specific In substitution was observed during single-crystal structure analysis. The γ-brass structures with body-centered cubic lattice (I$‾{4}$3m) are viewed as 26-atom γ-clusters. Like Cu5Zn8, the inner tetrahedron (IT), outer tetrahedron (OT) and octahedron (OH) sites in the 26-atom clusters of γ-brass structures with I-cell are occupied by Zn, Cu, Cu, respectively. Indium substitution is restricted to the cuboctahedral (CO) site and the CO site is assumed to be mixed with In, Cu and Zn throughout the homogeneity range. The structures of cubic γ-brass type (P$‾{4}$3m) phases with P-cell are built up with two independent 26‐atom γ‐clusters and centered at the special positions A (0, 0, 0) and B (½, ½, ½) of the unit cell. According to the single‐crystal X‐ray analyses, In substitutions are largely restricted to the cuboctahedral sited B clusters. In the cubic γ-phases with P-cell, site occupancy pattern of cluster positioned at A is similar to the γ-cluster in Cu5Zn8, whereas cluster B bears a close resemblance to Cu-poor γ-cluster (Cu14In12) of Cu9In4 (P$‾{4}$3m). The vec values for cubic γ-brass type phases in the Cu–Zn–In ternary system ranges between 1.57 and 1.64.

Synthesis and crystal structure of a new Cu3Au-type ternary phase in the Au–In–Pd system: distribution of atoms over crystallographic positions

A new Cu3Au-type ternary phase (τ phase) is found in the AuPd-rich part of the Au–In–Pd system. It has a broad homogeneity range based on extensive (Pd,Au) and (In,Au) replacement, with the composition varying between Au17.7In25.3Pd57.0and Au50.8In16.2Pd33.0. The occupancies of the crystallographic positions were studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction for three samples of different composition. The sites withm\overline{3}msymmetry are occupied by atoms with a smaller scattering power than the atoms located on 4/mmmsites. Two extreme structure models were refined. Within the first, the occupation type changes from (Au,In,Pd)3(Pd,In) to (Au,Pd)3(In,Pd,Au) with an increase in the Au gross content. For the second model, the occupation type (Au,In,Pd)3(Pd,Au) remains essentially unchanged for all Au concentrations. Although the diffraction data do not allow the choice of one of these models, the latter model, where Au substitutes In on 4/mmmsites, seems to be preferable, since it agrees with the fact that the homogeneity range of the τ phase is inclined to the Au corner and provides the same occupation type for all the studied samples of different compositions.