Equiatomic cerium intermetallics CeXX',with two p elements

Abstract

The equiatomic CeXX'phases (X and X'= elements of the 3rd, 4th, or 5th main group) extend the large series of CeTX intermetallics (T electron-rich transition metal). These phases crystallize with simple structure types, i.e. ZrNiAl, TiNiSi, CeScSi, α-ThSi2, AlB2, and GdSi2. In contrast to the CeTX intermetallics one observes pronounced solid solutions for the CeXX'phases. The main influence on the magnetic ground states results from the absence of d electrons. All known CeXX'phases show exclusively trivalent cerium and antiferro- or ferromagnetic ordering at low temperatures. The crystal chemical details and some structure-property relationships are reviewed.