The Yb–Zn–In system at 400 °C: Partial isothermal section with 0–33.3 at.% Yb

The phase relations in the ternary system Yb–Zn–In have been established for the partial isothermal section in the 0–33.3 at.% ytterbium concentration range at 400 °C, by researching of more than forty alloys. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), complemented with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), were used to study the microstructures, identify the phases and characterize their crystal structures and compositions. The phase equilibria of this Yb–Zn–In partial section at 400 °C are characterized by the presence of three extended homogeneity ranges, indium solubility in Yb13Zn58 and YbZn2 and of zinc solubility in YbIn2, and the existence of one ternary intermetallic compound, YbZn1−xIn1+x, x = ∼0.3. This new compound crystallizes in the UHg2 structure type (space group P6/mmm), with a = 4.7933(5) Å, c = 3.6954(5) Å. The studied partial isothermal section has eight ternary phase fields at 400 °C.