Zintl phases are salt-like compounds that are formed by combination of nonnoble metals (alkali, alkaline-earth, and rare earth metals) with post-transition metals. They are intermediate compounds that can be positioned between salts and intermetallic compounds in which metallic, ionic and covalent bonds exist. Zintl phases are expected to be semiconducting but they can also be metallic. The rational design and structural characterization of new tetrelide-tungstate doublesalts involving nine-atom clusters of the tetrel group and oxo-metallate of transition metal like tungstates, using the Zintl concept was our first goal. This would extend the Zintl phases into more ionic region. The second goal was to study of effects of electronic fluctuations on Zintl polyanionic networks, particularly those on the border with intermetallics, using the partial substitution approach. Thus, the transition from electron precise Zintl phases to typical intermetallic compounds was investigated, focusing on the change in the structures and their chemical bonding. Here, the Structure-composition-property inter-relationships which go beyond the grasp of the Zintl concept were analysed by theoretical band structure calculations.
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Zintl phases are salt-like compounds that are formed by combination of nonnoble metals (alkali, alkaline-earth, and rare earth metals) with post-transition metals. They are intermediate compounds that can be positioned between salts and intermetallic compounds in which metallic, ionic and covalent bonds exist. Zintl phases are expected to be semiconducting but they can also be metallic. The rational design and structural characterization of new tetrelide-tungstate doublesalts involving nine-atom...
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