A novel rare earth zinc germanide, Yb2Zn3Ge 3.1; crystal structure and physical properties

Author(s)
Andrij Grytsiv, Darek Kaczorowski, Peter Franz Rogl, Vinh Hung Tran, Claude Godart, K Gofryk, Gerald Giester
Abstract

A novel ternary structure type has been determined from single crystals of Yb2Zn3Ge3.1 grown from zinc flux solvent. Yb2Zn3Ge3.1 crystallizes in a novel monoclinic structure type (a = 1.5804(2) nm, b = 0.42970(1) nm, c = 1.1524(1) nm;ß = 126.14(1)°) with space group C2/m, Z = 4. The large ytterbium atoms are at the centres of pentagonal pyramids formed by Zn/Ge atoms. Zinc atoms are centred in distorted triangular prisms and polyhedra around germanium atoms are related to octahedra. The void at the centre of the Zn octahedra is only partially (20%) filled by Ge atoms. There are two positions for Yb atoms in the unit cell, which contain ions with valency slightly higher than 2+, as evidenced by x-ray absorption spectroscopy and bulk magnetic measurements. The compound exhibits metallic-like electrical conductivity, and its Seebeck coefficient shows a temperature variation characteristic of metals, being, however, fairly enhanced, as expected for intermediate valence systems.

Organisation(s)
Department of Physical Chemistry, Department of Mineralogy and Crystallography
External organisation(s)
Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS), Université Paris XI - Paris-Sud
Journal
Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter
Volume
17
Pages
385-397
No. of pages
13
ISSN
0953-8984
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984/17/2/013
Publication date
2005
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
105113 Crystallography
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/b43aded1-d9a4-4e62-b2e8-6cbae8996800