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 RAlxSi2−x, x∼1, non-stoichiometric ternary derivatives of the body-centered image-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.