The nature of bonds in new ternary zirconium silicide intermetallic compound of 16H crystal structure

The zirconium silicide intermetallic compounds of 16H crystal structure are good materials for high temperature structural applications because of their high melting point and low density. Their shortcoming is low ductility. To increase ductility, new ternary zirconium silicide intermetallic compound of 16H crystal structure, Si3Y3Zr2 has been designed by substituting yttrium atoms into zirconium 6g point set sites. Near-neighbor diagrams are used to examine the bonds in Si3Y3Zr2, whose bonds are more symmetric than other 16H binary intermetallic compounds. Melting points of intermetallic compounds of 16H crystal structure depend upon the strain parameters of N4d-N4d(2-2) bonds. The melting point of Si3Y3Zr2 is estimated to be higher than that of Si3Zr5 (2,500 K). It is predicted that Si3Y3Zr2 is a good material for high temperature structural applications