Ln2Al3Si2 (Ln=Ho,Er, Tm): New Silicides from Molten Aluminum—Determination of the Al/Si Distribution with Neutron Crystallography and Metamagnetic Transitions

Highly metallic compounds with a quasi‐one‐dimensional structure, the new ternary compounds Ln₂Al₃Si₂ (Ln=Ho, Er, Tm) are synthesized in molten aluminum from lanthanoid and silicon as reagents. Their structures show a formally Al₃Si₂]⁶⁻ framework that contains infinite Al zigzag chains and Si−Si dimers and accommodates rows of Ln³⁺ ions in parallel tunnels. The compounds exhibit metamagnetic transitions at high magnetic fields.