Investigation of structure, properties and applications of bulk and nanoscale intermetallic compounds derived from AlB2-prototype

Abstract

The relation between structure and properties in RE based intermetallic compounds has been crucial to design materials for particular applications.1-2 Several physical phenomena in the field of condensed matter physics such as superconductivity,3 Kondo behavior,4 heavy fermion, non-Fermi liquid behavior4 and topological insulator5 are well correlated with the structure of these compounds. These anomalous physical properties mostly originate from the interactions between the localized 4f (or 5f) electrons of the RE atoms and the delocalized conduction electrons.6-9 These interactions can be controlled by various parameters such as doping,10 substitution of atoms,11 by applying external pressure and/or temperature,12 and magnetic field,13 which may give rise to diverse crystal structures, phase transitions and properties. In this context, AlB2 structure drew attention of both chemists and condensed matter physicist since last two decades. The compound consists of planar hexagonal network of boron atoms and the aluminium atoms are embedded between adjacent parallel boron networks.14