YbGaGe is an alloy of ytterbium, gallium and germanium. It sparked interest because one group of researchers reported that it exhibits zero thermal expansion, while being conductive.[1] Such materials have applications in space and other environments where low thermal expansion materials are required.[2] However, subsequent measurements by other groups were not able to reproduce those results, but rather found expansion coefficients similar to copper.[3]
| Names | |
|---|---|
| Other names
Ytterbium Gallium Germanium
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| Identifiers | |
| Structure[1] | |
| MoC2 structure type | |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | |
a = 420.56 pm, c = 1678.1 pm
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Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Nevertheless, YbGaGe does show anomalous thermal expansion. Near-zero thermal expansion was observed by Booth et al. It was found that near-zero thermal expansion (NZTE) in YbGaGe is sensitive to stoichiometry and defect concentration. However, the near-zero thermal expansion mechanism remains elusive.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b Salvador, James R; Guo, Fu; Hogan, Tim; Kanatzidis, Mercouri G (2003). "Zero thermal expansion in YbGa Ge due to an electronic valence transition". Nature. 425 (6959): 702–705. Bibcode:2003Natur.425..702S. doi:10.1038/nature02011. PMID 14562099. S2CID 4412282.
- ^ "Zero Expansion Conductor". October 20, 2003. p. 1. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ Janssen, Y; Chang, S; Cho, B. K; Llobet, A; Dennis, K. W; McCallum, R. W; Mc Queeney, R. J; Canfield, P. C (2004). "YbGaGe: Normal thermal expansion". arXiv:cond-mat/0407683.
- ^ Booth, C. H; Christianson, A. D; Lawrence, J. M; Pham, L. D; Lashley, J. C; Drymiotis, F. R (2007). "Ytterbium divalency and lattice disorder in near-zero thermal expansion YbGaGe". Physical Review B. 75 (1): 012301. arXiv:cond-mat/0611166. Bibcode:2007PhRvB..75a2301B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.75.012301. S2CID 94678137.