Dimorphic ErAgSn and TmAgSn – High‐Pressure and High‐Temperature Driven Phase Transitions

Abstract

AbstractThe stannides ErAgSn and TmAgSn have been investigated under high‐temperature (HT) and high‐pressure (HP) conditions in order to investigate their structural chemistry. ErAgSn and TmAgSn are dimorphic: normal‐pressure (NP) ErAgSn and HT‐TmAgSn crystallize into the NdPtSb type structure, P63mc, a = 466.3(1), c = 729.0(2) pm for NP‐ErAgSn and a = 465.4(1), c = 726.6(2) pm for HT‐TmAgSn. NP‐ErAgSn was obtained via arc‐melting of the elements and subsequent annealing at 970 K, while HT‐TmAgSn crystallized directly from the melt by rapidly quenching the arc‐melted sample. HT‐TmAgSn transforms to the ZrNiAl type low‐temperature modification upon annealing at 970 K. The high‐pressure (HP) modification of ErAgSn was synthesized under multianvil high‐pressure (11.5 GPa) high‐temperature (1420 K) conditions from NP‐ErAgSn: ZrNiAl type, $P{\bar 6}{\rm 2}m$, a = 728.7(2), c = 445.6(1) pm. The silver and tin atoms in NP‐ErAgSn and HT‐TmAgSn build up two‐dimensional, puckered [Ag3Sn3] networks (277 pm intralayer Ag–Sn distance in NP‐ErAgSn) that are charge‐balanced and separated by the erbium and thulium atoms. The fourth neighbor in the adjacent layer has a longer Ag–Sn distance of 298 pm. The [AgSn] network in HP‐ErAgSn is three‐dimensional. Each silver atom has four tin neighbors (281–285 pm Ag–Sn). The [AgSn] network leaves distorted hexagonal channels, which are filled with the erbium atoms. The crystal chemistry of the three phases is discussed.