Crystal structures and phase stability in pseudobinary CaAl2−xZnx

Samples in the pseudobinary system CaAl2−xZnx (image) were synthesised from the elements. Three different structure types, the C15 and C36 Laves phase structures and the KHg2 (CeCu2) structure, were observed. The structures and homogeneity ranges of the underlying phases were investigated by electron microscopy and thermal analysis as well as X-ray powder diffraction. The stability ranges for the different structure types were found to be image, image and image for the C15, C36 and KHg2 structure types, respectively.