Hydrogen order in hydrides of Laves phases

Abstract

Abstract Many Laves phases AM 2 takes up hydrogen to form interstitial hydrides in which hydrogen atoms partially occupy A 2 M 2, AM 3, and/or M 4 tetrahedral interstices. They often exhibit temperature-driven order-disorder phase transitions, which are triggered by repulsion of hydrogen atoms occupying neighboring tetrahedral interstices. Because of the phase widths with respect to hydrogen a complete ordering, i.e., full occupation of all hydrogen positions is usually not achieved. Order-disorder transitions in Laves phase hydrides are thus phase transitions between crystal structures with different degrees of hydrogen order. Comparing the crystal structures of ordered and disordered phases reveals close symmetry relationships in all known cases. This allows new insights into the crystal chemical description of such phases and into the nature of the phase transitions. Structural relationships for over 40 hydrides of cubic and hexagonal Laves phases ZrV2, HfV2, ZrCr2, ZrCo2, LaMg2, CeMg2, PrMg2, NdMg2, SmMg2, YMn2, ErMn2, TmMn2, LuMn2, Lu0.4Y0.6Mn2 YFe2, and ErFe2 are concisely described in terms of crystallographic group-subgroup schemes (Bärnighausen trees) covering 32 different crystal structure types, 26 of which represent hydrogen-ordered crystal structures.