The new ternary pnictides Er12Ni30P21 and Er13Ni25As19: Crystal structures and magnetic properties

The new ternary pnictides Er12Ni30P21 and Er13Ni25As19 have been synthesized from the elements. They crystallize with hexagonal structures determined from single-crystal X-ray data for Er12Ni30P21 (space group P63/m, a=1.63900(3) nm, c=0.37573(1) nm, Z=1, RF=0.062 for 1574 F-values and 74 variable parameters), and for Er13Ni25As19 (Tm13Ni25As19-type structure, space group P6̄, a=1.6208(1) nm, c=0.38847(2) nm, Z=1, RF=0.026 for 1549 F-values and 116 variable parameters). These compounds belong to a large family of hexagonal structures with a metal–metalloid ratio of 2:1. HRTEM investigations were conducted to probe for local ordering of the disordered structure at the nanoscale. The magnetic properties of the phosphide Er12Ni30P21 have been studied in the temperature of range 2