Dysprosium stannides

Under standard conditions, the elements dysprosium and tin combine to form a number of intermetallic compounds, the '''dysprosium stannides'''. Dysprosium stannides with simple empirical formulas include Dy₅Sn₃ and DySn₂, but four other intermetallics have intermediate composition. None is believed to survive temperatures higher than {{Convert|1866|C|F|abbr=on}}, whereat Dy₅Sn₃ decomposes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Okamoto |first=H. |date=2005-04-01 |title=Dy-Sn (Dysprosium-Tin) |url=http://www.ingentaselect.com/rpsv/cgi-bin/cgi?ini=xref&body=linker&reqdoi=10.1361/15477030523247 |journal=Journal of Phase Equilibria & Diffusion |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=200–202 |doi=10.1361/15477030523247|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Although dysprosium is a lanthanoid, its ''f'' orbitals likely participate in the metallic bonding: mixing dysprosium and tin releases an enthalpy quite different from mixing samarium and tin, with gadolinium and tin intermediate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Colinet |first=C. |last2=Pasturel |first2=A. |last3=Percheron-Guégan |first3=A. |last4=Achard |first4=J.C. |date=October 1984 |title=Experimental and calculated enthalpies of formation of rare earth-tin alloys |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0022508884903138 |journal=Journal of the Less Common Metals |volume=102 |issue=2 |page=173 |doi=10.1016/0022-5088(84)90313-8|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

DySn₂ adopts the zirconium disilicide crystal structure, and undergoes a Néel transition around {{Convert|17|K|F|abbr=on}}. The magnetic patterning below the Néel point has periods incommensurable with the atomic unit cell, leading to a sinusoidal modulation. Theoretically, DySn₂ should transition at very low temperatures to a different magnetic pattern with commensurable spatial period, but even at {{Convert|1.5|K|F}} the incommensurable pattern survives.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Venturini |first=G. |last2=Lemoine |first2=P. |last3=Malaman |first3=B. |last4=Ouladdiaf |first4=B. |date=September 2010 |title=Magnetic structures of orthorhombic rare earth stannides LSn2 (L=Tb–Tm) |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0925838810015422 |journal=Journal of Alloys and Compounds |volume=505 |issue=2 |pages=404–415 |doi=10.1016/j.jallcom.2010.06.089|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==References== <references/>

{{Dysprosium compounds}} {{Tin compounds}}

Category:Dysprosium compounds Category:Tin compounds Category:Intermetallics

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