Abstract
The use of molten Ga as a non-reactive solvent for the synthesis of intermetallic silicides was demonstrated on the family RE2Ni 3+xSi5-x (RE = Sm, Gd and Tb). The structure of Sm 2Ni3+xSi5-x was solved from single crystal X-ray data in the orthorhombic space group Ibam, Z = 4, cell parameters a = 9.6396(12); b = 11.3219(14); and c = 5.6967(13) Å. The refinement based on the full-matrix least-squares on Fo2 [I > 2σ(I)] converged to final residuals R1/wR2 = 0.0206/0.0492. The structure of RE2Ni3+xSi5-x is related to the U2Co3Si5 structure type; however, discrepancies exist between the solution obtained for RE 2Ni3+xSi5-x and that reported for U 2Co3Si5. The magnetic properties studied on Tb2Ni3+xSi5-x indicate an antiferromagnetic ordering of magnetic moments centered at Tb ions at 13 K, and Curie-Weiss behavior at high temperatures with the effective moment close to that of free Tb3+ ion.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 649-657 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Zeitschrift fur Naturforschung - Section B Journal of Chemical Sciences |
Volume | 58 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1 2003 |
Funding
Financial support from the Department of Energy (Grant # DE-FG02-99ER45793) is gratefully acknowledged. This work made use of the SEM/ EDS facilities of the Center of Advanced Microscopy at Michigan State University.
Keywords
- Flux Synthesis
- Intermetallics
- Magnetism
- Mixed Occupancy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry