Interaction of Refractory Group V Metals with Zinc

In view of the possibility of producing refractory compounds of transition metals [2], particularly V, Nb, and Ta, in a zinc melt, we studied the interactions of these metals with zinc. Existing data relating to the V-Zn, Nb-Zn, and Ta-Zn systems are incomplete and inaccurate. The most extensive and detailed investigations into these systems have been conducted by Shubert and others [7, 9]. Table 1 gives the structural characteristics of intermetallic phases belonging to the systems in question. We see that the structure and parameters of the unit cell have only been determined for a few of these compounds. The Nb-Zn system is the one which has been most studied.