RZnSn (R=rare earth): a novel series of intermetallic compounds with the YPtAs structure type

We report on the synthesis and crystal structure of the new family of rare earth ternary equiatomic RZnSn compounds. The phases are found to form for R = La to Nd, Sm, Gd to Lu, Y, all belonging to the hexagonal hP12-P63/mmc YPtAs structure type. The lattice parameters, as obtained by the Guinier method on polycrystalline samples, vary regularly from La [a = 4.588(1), c = 17.044(2) \uc5] to Lu [a = 4.439(1), c = 15.415(1) \uc5]. The crystal structure was refined for the Gd and Y compounds using single crystal data, and for the La, Ce, Pr, Nd and Sm compounds by means of the Rietveld method