Peculiarity of component interaction in Zr–Mn–{Sn, Sb} ternary systems

The isothermal sections of the phase diagrams of the Zr–Mn–Sn and Zr–Mn–Sb ternary systems have been constructed in the whole concentration range using X-ray and metallographic analyses at 773 K and 873 K, respectively. Component interaction in the Zr–Mn–Sn system at 773 K results the existence of one ternary compounds, ZrMn ₆Sn ₆ (MgFe ₆Ge ₆-type). The Zr–Mn–Sb system at 873 K is characterized by formation of Zr ₅Mn _0.5Sb _2.5 compound with W ₅Si ₃-type and Zr ₅MnSb ₃ with Hf ₅CuSn ₃-type. The Zr ₅MnSb ₃ compound with Hf ₅CuSn ₃ structure type represents the limited composition of the solid solution based on Zr ₅Sb ₄ binary. The band structure calculations of ZrMn ₆Sn ₆ and Zr ₅Mn _0.5Sb _2.5 compounds using the FP-LAPW method confirmed the metallic type of conductivity of both compounds.