Crystal and Magnetic Structures of the Ternary Ho2Ni0.8Si1.2 and Ho2Ni0.8Ge1.2 Compounds: An Example of Intermetallics Crystallizing with the Zr2Ni1-xP Prototype.

We report two new rare-earth (R) ternary intermetallic compounds-Ho2Ni0.8T1.2 with T = Si and Ge-that correspond to the R5Ni2T3 phase earlier reported to form in Dy-Ni-T and Ho-Ni-T ternary systems. The compounds crystallize in a filled version of the orthorhombic Zr2Ni1-xP-type structure with x = 0.52; their stoichiometry, determined from both single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction data, is centered on Ho2Ni0.8T1.2 with a narrow solid solubility range for the silicide, while the germanide appears to be a line phase. In addition to R = Dy and Ho, R2Ni0.8T1.2 compounds also form for R = Y and Tb, representing the first examples of rare-earth-based compounds adopting the Zr2Ni1-xP structural prototype. Bulk magnetization data reveal the main transitions of the ferrimagnetic or ferromagnetic type at TC = 38 K for Ho2Ni0.8Si1.2 and TC = 37 K for Ho2Ni0.8Ge1.2, which are followed by subsequent magnetic reordering at lower temperatures. Neutron diffraction shows complex magnetic structures below TC with both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic components and magnetic propagation vector κ1 = [0, 0, 0]. Below TN ≅ 24 K (22 K) for the silicide (germanide), an additional antiferromagnetic coupling following an incommensurate magnetic propagation vector κ2 = [κx, 0, 0] appears to coexist with the first magnetic structure.