Rare earth–transition metal–magnesium compounds—An overview

Intermetallic rare earth–transition metal–magnesium compounds play an important role as precipitations in modern light weight alloys and as host materials for hydrogen storage applications. Recent results on the crystal chemistry, the chemical bonding peculiarities, physical properties, and hydrogenation behavior of these materials are reviewed.

Graphical abstractView of the Sm4RhMg crystal structure approximately along the direction. Samarium, rhodium, and magnesium atoms are drawn as medium gray, filled (hidden in the trigonal prisms), and open circles, respectively. The three-dimensional network of corner-sharing RhSm6 trigonal prisms and the Mg4 tetrahedra are emphasized. The Sm1 atoms do not participate in the network of condensed trigonal prisms.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide