On the 500°C isothermal section of the ternary Eu–Ag–Ga system up to 33.3 at.% Eu

Abstract

• Isothermal section of the Eu–Ag–Ga (0–33.3 at.% Eu) system at 500 °C. • Identification six new ternary intermetallic phases. • Crystal structure determination of the Eu 2 Ag 13.6–13 Ga 3.3–4 . The isothermal section of the ternary Eu–Ag–Ga system has been studied at 500 °C for the 0–33.3 at.% Eu concentration region. X-ray diffraction techniques, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, complemented with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, were used to identify the phases and characterize their crystal structures and compositions. The crystal structure of selected phases has been refined using powder X-ray diffraction data. This study indicates the formation of six new intermetallic phases in the explored region: EuAg 0.14 Ga 2.86 (own type, related to CeNiSi 2 type), EuAg 2.8 Ga 1.8 (YbAg 2.5 Ga 2.1 type), Eu 4 Ag 14.7 Ga 7.6 (Sc 4 Cu 14.76 Ga 7.51 type), Eu 4 Ag 11.3 Ga 5.7 (own type), Eu 2 Ag 13.6–13 Ga 3.3–4 (Th 2 Zn 17 type) and EuAg 3.2 Ga 0.8 (unknown type).