An intermetallic (also called an intermetallic compound, intermetallic alloy, ordered intermetallic alloy, and a long-range-ordered alloy) is a type of

metallic Metallic may be a reference to: *Metal * Metalloid, metal-like substance *Metallic bonding, type of chemical bonding * Metallicity, in astronomy the proportion of elements other than helium and hydrogen in an object *Metallic color, a color that ...

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductilit ...

that forms an ordered solid-state

compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...

between two or more metallic elements. Intermetallics are generally hard and brittle, with good high-temperature mechanical properties. They can be classified as stoichiometric or nonstoichiometic intermetallic compounds. Although the term "intermetallic compounds", as it applies to solid phases, has been in use for many years, its introduction was regretted, for example by Hume-Rothery in 1955.

Definitions

Research definition

Schulze in 1967 defined intermetallic compounds as ''solid phases containing two or more metallic elements, with optionally one or more non-metallic elements, whose crystal structure differs from that of the other constituents''. Under this definition, the following are included: #Electron (or Hume-Rothery) compounds #Size packing phases. e.g.

Laves phase Laves phases are intermetallic phases that have composition AB2 and are named for Fritz Laves who first described them. The phases are classified on the basis of geometry alone. While the problem of packing spheres of equal size has been well- ...

Frank–Kasper phases Topologically close pack (TCP) phases, also known as Frank-Kasper (FK) phases, are one of the largest groups of intermetallic compounds, known for their complex crystallographic structure and physical properties. Owing to their combination of ...

and Nowotny phases #

Zintl phase In chemistry, a Zintl phase is a product of a reaction between a group 1 (alkali metal) or group 2 ( alkaline earth metal) and main group metal or metalloid (from groups 13, 14, 15, or 16). It is characterized by intermediate metallic/ ionic bond ...

s The definition of a metal is taken to include: #

post-transition metal The metallic elements in the periodic table located between the transition metals and the chemically weak nonmetallic metalloids have received many names in the literature, such as ''post-transition metals'', ''poor metals'', ''other metals'', ...

s, i.e.

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

, gallium,

indium Indium is a chemical element with the symbol In and atomic number 49. Indium is the softest metal that is not an alkali metal. It is a silvery-white metal that resembles tin in appearance. It is a post-transition metal that makes up 0.21 parts ...

thallium Thallium is a chemical element with the symbol Tl and atomic number 81. It is a gray post-transition metal that is not found free in nature. When isolated, thallium resembles tin, but discolors when exposed to air. Chemists William Crookes an ...

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

, and

bismuth Bismuth is a chemical element with the symbol Bi and atomic number 83. It is a post-transition metal and one of the pnictogens, with chemical properties resembling its lighter group 15 siblings arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth occurs ...

. # metalloids, e.g.

silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic ta ...

, germanium,

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, ...

antimony Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient t ...

and

tellurium Tellurium is a chemical element with the symbol Te and atomic number 52. It is a brittle, mildly toxic, rare, silver-white metalloid. Tellurium is chemically related to selenium and sulfur, all three of which are chalcogens. It is occasionall ...

. Homogeneous and heterogeneous

solid solution A solid solution, a term popularly used for metals, is a homogenous mixture of two different kinds of atoms in solid state and have a single crystal structure. Many examples can be found in metallurgy, geology, and solid-state chemistry. The wor ...

s of metals, and

interstitial compound In materials science, an interstitial defect is a type of point crystallographic defect where an atom of the same or of a different type, occupies an interstitial site in the crystal structure. When the atom is of the same type as those already ...

s (such as

carbide In chemistry, a carbide usually describes a compound composed of carbon and a metal. In metallurgy, carbiding or carburizing is the process for producing carbide coatings on a metal piece. Interstitial / Metallic carbides The carbides of th ...

s and

nitride In chemistry, a nitride is an inorganic compound of nitrogen. The "nitride" anion, N3- ion, is very elusive but compounds of nitride are numerous, although rarely naturally occuring. Some nitrides have a find applications, such as wear-resistant ...

s), are excluded under this definition. However, interstitial intermetallic compounds are included, as are alloys of intermetallic compounds with a metal.

Common use

In common use, the research definition, including

s and metalloids, is extended to include compounds such as

cementite Cementite (or iron carbide) is a compound of iron and carbon, more precisely an intermediate transition metal carbide with the formula Fe3C. By weight, it is 6.67% carbon and 93.3% iron. It has an orthorhombic crystal structure. It is a hard, bri ...

, Fe₃C. These compounds, sometimes termed

s, can be

stoichiometric Stoichiometry refers to the relationship between the quantities of reactants and products before, during, and following chemical reactions. Stoichiometry is founded on the law of conservation of mass where the total mass of the reactants equ ...

, and share similar properties to the intermetallic compounds defined above.

Complexes

The term intermetallic is used to describe compounds involving two or more metals such as the

cyclopentadienyl complex A cyclopentadienyl complex is a coordination complex of a metal and cyclopentadienyl groups (, abbreviated as Cp−). Cyclopentadienyl ligands almost invariably bind to metals as a pentahapto (''η''5-) bonding mode. The metal–cyclopentadien ...

Cp₆Ni₂Zn₄.

B2

A B2 intermetallic compound has equal numbers of atoms of two metals such as aluminium and iron, arranged as two interpenetrating simple cubic lattices of the component metals.

Properties and applications

Intermetallic compounds are generally brittle at room temperature and have high melting points. Cleavage or intergranular fracture modes are typical of intermetallics due to limited independent

slip Slip or SLIP may refer to: Science and technology Biology * Slip (fish), also known as Black Sole * Slip (horticulture), a small cutting of a plant as a specimen or for grafting * Muscle slip, a branching of a muscle, in anatomy Computing and ...

systems required for plastic deformation. However, there are some examples of intermetallics with ductile fracture modes such as Nb–15Al–40Ti. Other intermetallics can exhibit improved

ductility Ductility is a mechanical property commonly described as a material's amenability to drawing (e.g. into wire). In materials science, ductility is defined by the degree to which a material can sustain plastic deformation under tensile str ...

by alloying with other elements to increase grain boundary cohesion. Alloying of other materials such as boron to improve grain boundary cohesion can improve ductility in many intermetallics. They often offer a compromise between

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

and metallic properties when hardness and/or resistance to high temperatures is important enough to sacrifice some

toughness In materials science and metallurgy, toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically deform without fracturing.magnetic, superconducting and chemical properties, due to their strong internal order and mixed (

and

covalent A covalent bond is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electrons to form electron pairs between atoms. These electron pairs are known as shared pairs or bonding pairs. The stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms ...

/ ionic) bonding, respectively. Intermetallics have given rise to various novel materials developments. Some examples include

alnico Alnico is a family of iron alloys which in addition to iron are composed primarily of aluminium (Al), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co), hence the acronym ''al-ni-co''. They also include copper, and sometimes titanium. Alnico alloys are ferromagnetic, ...

and the

hydrogen storage Hydrogen storage can be accomplished by several existing methods of holding hydrogen for later use. These include mechanical approaches such as using high pressures and low temperatures, or employing chemical compounds that release H2 upon demand ...

materials in

nickel metal hydride Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to r ...

batteries. Ni₃Al, which is the hardening phase in the familiar nickel-base super alloys, and the various

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...

aluminides have also attracted interest for

turbine blade ...

applications, while the latter is also used in very small quantities for

grain refinement In materials science, grain-boundary strengthening (or Hall–Petch strengthening) is a method of strengthening materials by changing their average crystallite (grain) size. It is based on the observation that grain boundaries are insurmountabl ...

titanium alloy Titanium alloys are alloys that contain a mixture of titanium and other chemical elements. Such alloys have very high tensile strength and toughness (even at extreme temperatures). They are light in weight, have extraordinary corrosion resista ...

Silicide A silicide is a type of chemical compound that combines silicon and a (usually) more electropositive element. Silicon is more electropositive than carbon. Silicides are structurally closer to borides than to carbides. Similar to borides and carb ...

s, inter-metallic involving silicon, are utilized as barrier and contact layers in

microelectronics Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics. As the name suggests, microelectronics relates to the study and manufacture (or microfabrication) of very small electronic designs and components. Usually, but not always, this means micrometre-s ...

Examples

Magnetic material A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel ...

s e.g.

sendust Sendust is a magnetic metal powder that was invented by Hakaru Masumoto at Tohoku Imperial University in Sendai, Japan circa 1936 as an alternative to permalloy in inductor applications for telephone networks. Sendust composition is typically 85% ...

, Permendur, FeCo,

Terfenol-D Terfenol-D, an alloy of the formula (''x'' ≈ 0.3), is a magnetostrictive material. It was initially developed in the 1970s by the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in the United States. The technology for manufacturing the material efficiently was d ...

Superconductors Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in certain materials where electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic flux fields are expelled from the material. Any material exhibiting these properties is a superconductor. Unlike ...

e.g.

A15 phases The A15 phases (also known as β-W or Cr3Si structure types) are series of intermetallic compounds with the chemical formula ''A''3''B'' (where A is a transition metal and B can be any element) and a specific structure. The A15 phase is also one o ...

, niobium-tin #

Hydrogen storage Hydrogen storage can be accomplished by several existing methods of holding hydrogen for later use. These include mechanical approaches such as using high pressures and low temperatures, or employing chemical compounds that release H2 upon demand ...

e.g. AB₅ compounds ( nickel metal hydride batteries) #

Shape memory alloy In metallurgy, a shape-memory alloy (SMA) is an alloy that can be deformed when cold but returns to its pre-deformed ("remembered") shape when heated. It may also be called memory metal, memory alloy, smart metal, smart alloy, or muscle wire. P ...

s e.g. Cu-Al-Ni (alloys of Cu₃Al and nickel),

Nitinol Nickel titanium, also known as Nitinol, is a metal alloy of nickel and titanium, where the two elements are present in roughly equal atomic percentages. Different alloys are named according to the weight percentage of nickel; e.g., Nitinol 55 and ...

(NiTi) #Coating materials e.g. NiAl #High-temperature structural materials e.g.

nickel aluminide Nickel aluminide typically refers to the one of the two most widely used compounds, Ni3Al or NiAl, however is generally any aluminide from the Ni-Al system. These alloys are widely used due to their corrosion resistance, low-density and easy product ...

, Ni₃Al #

Dental amalgam Dental amalgam is a liquid mercury and metal alloy mixture used in dentistry to fill cavities caused by tooth decay. Low-copper amalgam commonly consists of mercury (50%), silver (~22–32%), tin (~14%), zinc (~8%) and other trace metals. ...

s, which are alloys of intermetallics Ag₃Sn and Cu₃Sn # Gate contact/

barrier layer A diffusion barrier is a thin layer (usually micrometres thick) of metal usually placed between two other metals. It is done to act as a barrier to protect either one of the metals from corrupting the other.. Adhesion of a plated metal layer to it ...

for

e.g. TiSi₂ #

s (AB₂), e.g., MgCu₂, MgZn₂ and MgNi₂. The formation of intermetallics can cause problems. For example, intermetallics of gold and aluminium can be a significant cause of wire bond failures in semiconductor devices and other

devices. The management of intermetallics is a major issue in the reliability of solder joints between electronic components.

Intermetallic particles

Intermetallic particles often form during solidification of metallic alloys, and can be used as a dispersion strengthening mechanism.

History

Examples of intermetallics through history include: #Roman yellow

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

, CuZn #Chinese high tin bronze, Cu₃₁Sn₈ #

Type metal In printing, type metal refers to the metal alloys used in traditional typefounding and hot metal typesetting. Historically, type metal was an alloy of lead, tin and antimony in different proportions depending on the application, be it individ ...

, SbSn #Chinese white copper, CuNi German type metal is described as breaking like glass, not bending, softer than copper but more fusible than lead.
''Type-pounding'' The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge By Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain), George Long Published 1843 The chemical formula does not agree with the one above; however, the properties match with an intermetallic compound or an alloy of one.

References

* Gerhard Sauthoff: Intermetallics, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim 1995, 165 pages
Intermetallics
Gerhard Sauthoff, Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley Interscience. (Subscription required)

External links

Intermetallics
scientific journal

– an article on the Wire Bond Website of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Intermetallics project
(IMPRESS Intermetallics project at the European Space Agency)
Video of an AB₅ intermetallic compound solidifying/freezing
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