Intermetallic REPtZn Compounds with TiNiSi-type Structure

The equiatomic rare earth compounds REPtZn (RE = Y, Pr, Nd, Gd–Tm) were synthesized from the elements in sealed tantalum tubes by high-frequency melting at 1500 K followed by annealing at 1120 K and quenching. The samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction. The structures of four crystals were refined from single-crystal diffractometer data: TiNiSi type, Pnma, a = 707.1(1), b = 430.0(1), c = 812.4(1) pm, wR2 = 0.066, 602 F2, 21 variables for PrPt1.056Zn0.944; a = 695.2(1), b = 419.9(1), c = 804.8(1) pm, wR2 = 0.041, 522 F2, 21 variables for GdPt0.941Zn1.059; a = 688.2(1), b = 408.1(1), c = 812.5(1) pm, wR2 = 0.041, 497 F2, 22 variables for HoPt1.055Zn0.945; a = 686.9(1), b = 407.8(1), c = 810.4(1) pm, wR2 = 0.061, 779 F2, 20 variables for ErPtZn. The single-crystal data indicate small homogeneity ranges REPt1±xZn1±x. The platinum and zinc atoms build up three-dimensional [PtZn] networks (265 – 269 pm Pt–Zn in ErPtZn) in which the erbium atoms fill cages with coordination number 16 (6 Pt + 6 Zn + 4 Er). Bonding of the erbium atoms to the [PtZn] network proceeds via shorter RE–Pt distances, i. e. 288 – 293 pm in ErPtZn.