La5Al3Ni2 – an Intermetallic Phase Observed upon Crystallization of La50Al25Ni25 Metallic Glass

The yet unknown intermetallic phase La₅Al₃Ni₂ was obtained by partially crystallizing amorphous La₅₀Al₂₅Ni₂₅ at 550 K (further heating above 600 K leads to irreversible disappearance of this phase), and its crystal structure was determined from X‐ray powder diffraction data. The crystal structure of the La₅Al₃Ni₂ phase constitutes a new structure type (Cmcm, a = 14.231Å, b = 6.914Å, c = 10.460Å, oC40) and is built from Al₃Ni₂] chains surrounded by La atoms. In the ternary system La‐Al‐Ni La₅Al₃Ni₂ is located on the section La₅₀Al_50−nNi_n (0 ≤ n ≤ 50) with the binary compounds LaAl and LaNi as end members. Strikingly, also the crystal structures of the end members can be conceived as chain structures with Al and Ni chains surrounded by La, respectively.