The ternary system: Aluminum–iron–praseodymium

Phase equilibria in the ternary system Pr-Fe-Al have been established in an isothermal section at 800-degrees-C from room temperature x-ray powder diffraction analysis of about 50 alloys, which were melted, annealed at 800-degrees-C, and quenched. Phase equilibria are characterized by the formation of rather extended homogeneous regions, i.e., by a random substitution of Fe/Al in Pr(Al(1-x)Fe(x))2, 0 less-than-or-equal-to x less-than-or-equal-to 0.15, in Pr2(Fe(1-x)Al(x))17, 0 less-than-or-equal-to x less-than-or-equal-to 0.65, as well as by the formation of at least four ternary compounds. Whereas the existence of PrFe4Al8 with the CeMn4Al8-type structure has been confirmed, there were no indications for a compound "PrFe6Al6" earlier claimed to crystallize with the ThMn12-type structure. Pr6(Fe(1-x)Al(x))14, 0.16 less-than-or-equal-to x less-than-or-equal-to 0.36 with a homogeneous region parallel to the Fe-Al binary, was found to be isotypic with the La6Co11Ga3-type of structure. Pr-rich alloys are liquid at 800-degrees-C, and all the alloys Pr2(Fe(1-x)Al(x))17 with aluminum concentrations less than 5 at. % Al (x approximately 0.07) enter a two-phase equilibrium with the Pr-rich liquid. At temperatures below 800-degrees-C, alloys with compositions close to 30 at. % Pr and 5 at. % Al show a further ternary phase on solidification, whose crystal structure is related to the La6Co11Ga3-type. PrFe2Al8 is a new representative of the CeFe2Al8-type structure. The crystal structure of the ternary compound richest in Al, PrFe2Al10, has not been solved yet.