Recent exploratory syntheses of polar intermetallic compounds containing gold have established gold’s tremendous ability to stabilize new phases with diverse and fascinating structural motifs. In particular, Au-rich polar intermetallics contain Au atoms condensed into tetrahedra and diamond-like three-dimensional frameworks. In Au-poor intermetallics, on the other hand, Au atoms tend to segrega...

The enhanced stability and modified electronic structure of intermetallic compounds provide discovery of superior catalysts for chemical conversions with high activity, selectivity, and stability. We find that the intermetallic NaAu2 is an active catalyst for CO oxidation at low temperatures. From density functional theory calculations, a reaction mechanism is suggested to explain the observed ...

The compositions and structures of thermodynamically stable or metastable precipitations in binary Mg-X (X=Sn, Y, Sc, Ag) alloys are predicted using ab-initio evolutionary algorithm. The geometry optimizations of the predicted intermetallic compounds are carried out in the framework of density functional theory (DFT) [1]. A complete list of the optimized crystallographic information (in cif for...

The aim of this work is to elucidate the formation of the amorphous phase in the Cu-Zr binary alloy system. It was found that 1 mm diameter rods with a fully amorphous structure can be prepared in a relatively wide range of compositions. In contrast, the formation of 2 mm diameter rods was achieved only for the Cu64Zr36 alloy and in the range of Cu53Zr47 Cu50Zr50, which are compositions near th...

An oscillatory microstructure has been observed during deep-cellular growth of directionally solidified Sn-36at.%Ni hyperperitectic alloy containing intermetallic compounds with narrow solubility range. This oscillatory microstructure with a dimension of tens of micrometers has been observed for the first time. The morphology of this wave-like oscillatory structure is similar to secondary dendr...

The effect of Yttrium addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Sn-Zn eutectic alloy, which has been attracting intensive focus as a Pb-free solder material, was investigated in this study. Phase equilibrium has been calculated by using FactSage® to evaluate the composition and fraction of equilibrium intermetallic compounds and construct a phase diagram. In the case of Sn-8.8...