Ternary rare-earth alumo-silicides - single-crystal growth from Al flux, structural and physical properties

A number of rare-earth alumo-silicides (R-Al-Si) have been synthesized from the corresponding elements by high-temperature reactions, carried out in excess of aluminum to serve as a flux. Under these experimental conditions, large single crystals of all R-Al-Si ternary phases were readily produced. The crystal structures these ternaries adopt were studied by means of powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction and were classified as follows: (1) the early rare-earths (R = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd) yield RA1(x)Si(2-x), x similar to 1, non-stoichiometric ternary derivatives of the body-centered alpha-ThSi2-type; (2) the late rare-earths (R = Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm) form stoichiometric R2Al3Si2 compounds that crystallize in the C-centered monoclinic Y2Al3Si2-type; (3) the divalent Eu and Yb produce EuAl2Si2 and YbAl2Si2 with the trigonal CaAl2Si2-type, whereas the last lanthanide element, Lu, forms LuAlSi with C-centered orthorhombic YAlGe-type. These Structural trends are reviewed, and the evolution of the basic physical properties such as magnetism, heat capacity and electrical resistivity when moving across the series is described in detail. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.