An overview on the structural diversity of europium based ternary intermetallics

Abstract

Rare earth (RE) based intermetallic compounds (IMCs) show wide range of fascinating and anomalous physical properties due to the interplay of various kinds of interactions between the localized 4f electrons of the RE atoms and the delocalized conduction electrons. Among them, the Eu containing compounds have particular scientific interest because they can exhibit two energetically similar electronic configurations: Eu²⁺ (4f⁷) and Eu³⁺ (4f⁶). This feature of Eu resulted in compounds with different structures or even new structure types compared to other RE based intermetallics. In this review, we discuss about the Eu based ternary intermetallic compounds with a focus on the crystal structure and structural relationship of Eu based ternary IMCs with known structures and finally novel structure types.