Intermetallic
A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2021) | Viewed by 32051
Special Issue Editor
Interests: inorganic synthesis; intermetallic compounds; Zintl phases; clusters; crystal and electronic structure; thermoelectric and magnetocaloric materials; superconductors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear colleague,
Intermetallics are a vast class of compounds composed of metals and metalloids. According to the definition of Schulze, intermetallic compounds “are solid phases containing two or more metallic elements, with optionally one or more non-metallic elements, whose crystal structure differs from that of the other constituents”. So far, more than 21 thousand intermetallic compounds have been documented in the literature and data bases. They are very different in nature. Classical metallic alloys such as CuZn brass belong to the Hume-Rothery electron compounds and differ significantly from polar Zintl phases, exemplified by K8Sn44, with localized bonding. However, many intermetallics are found in between these two extremes exhibiting less-polar, mainly multicenter, bonding (e.g., Mn2Ga5 or RuAl2). The crystal structures of intermetallic compounds are also very different, ranging from the simple and symmetric rock salt and Cu3Au types to complex metallic alloys that feature thousands of atoms in their unit cells. Being extremely different in crystal and electronic structures, intermetallic compounds display a great variety of properties that justify their application. Many of them have been known for centuries, for instance the mechanical and acoustic properties of tin-rich bronze were known to the Chinese about four thousand years ago. The others have emerged in recent years, covering a broad scope of properties and applications, including superconductivity, complex magnetic phenomena, thermoelectric effect, and catalysis. In their discovery, we rely on elaborate synthetic methods as well as new and advanced tools for analyzing structure–property relations; and as our tools and methods progress, we begin to appreciate the growing complexity of intermetallic compounds that provides a vast field for emerging phenomena and materials. This makes the realm of intermetallic compounds an inexhaustible source of new compounds with new and better properties and advanced applications; it is a playground for generations of chemists, with high expectations of future remarkable discoveries.
Prof. Dr. Andrei Vladimirovich Shevelkov
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- intermetallic compounds
- crystal structure
- chemical bonding
- superconductivity
- magnetic phenomenon
- thermoelectric effect
- catalysis
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