On The Ternary Compounds AlXNiyBz: Their Synthesis, Structural, Thermal, and Physical

Abstract

ABSTRACT We investigated the role of the metalloid in shaping the thermal and electronic properties of ternary Al-Ni-B compounds. Various representative samples were synthesized from the wide homogeneity range of Al3Ni;BX, AlNiB3(|.X), Al;Ni;Bx, AlNi(|. y)By’ Al(|.y)ByNi, (Al(1.,)Ni,)Ni and Al3Ni;@B5B¢(1+,q (0 5 x 5 l; y = 0.2, z = 0.06, -0.06). Structural analysis demonstrates that the B atoms enter into the empty lattice-sites of the parent compounds without altering the unit-cell symmetry. Thermal analysis up to l400 °C revealed additional distinct thermal events in most of the studied samples; the transition points as well as the associated enthalpy differences are discussed in terms of the B-alloying process. Down to 2 K (for selected compounds down to 20 ml{), there is no evidence of superconductivity or (de)localized magnetism in any of the studied compounds. Rather, all samples are normal metals and, furthermore, their Pauli susceptibility, their linear coefficient of the specific heat, and their linear coefficient of the resistivity (as well as all other electronic properties) are found to correlate strongly with the electronic contribution of the Ni 3d band to the density of state at the Fermi level and with electron-phonon interaction.