Evan Lyle Thomas

CRYSTAL GROWTH AND THE SEARCH FOR HIGHLY CORRELATED INTERMETALLICS

Our interests lie in studying and understanding the structure-property relationships in novel ternary intermetallics synthesized by metallic flux-growth methods. This review highlights the synthesis, structures and physical properties of ternary lanthanide – transition metal – main group element intermetallics (Ln – T – X), where T = Co, Rh, Ir, Ni, Pd, and Pt, and X = Ga, In, Sb and Sn. Several phases will be discussed, including Ln n TIn3 n +2 (n = 1, 2, ∞), CePdGa6, Ce2PdGa12, Ce2PdGa10, LnNiSb3, LnNi1−x Sb2 (x ∼ 0.4) and Ln 3Co4Sn13. In addition, we report the synthesis, structure characterization, and magnetic behavior from single crystals of Ln 3Co4Sn13 (Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb).

Synthesis, Structure and Magnetism of ErCoIn 5

A new member of the LnM In 5 family, ErCoIn 5 , has been synthesized by a flux-growth method. The structure of ErCoIn 5 was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. It crystallizes in the tetragonal space group P 4/ mmm , Z = 1, with lattice parameters a = 4.5400(4) and c = 7.3970(7) A, and V = 152.46(2) A 3 . Electrical resistivity data show metallic behavior. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show this compound to be antiferromagnetic with T N = 5.1 K. We compare these experimental results with those of LaCoIn 5 in an effort to better understand the effect of the structural trends observed on the transport and magnetic properties.