New intermetallic compounds found in Hf–Ni–Ge and Hf–Pt–Ge systems

Abstract New intermetallic compounds, Hf 3 Ni 4 Ge 4 and HfPtGe, were found and their crystallographic, electric and magnetic properties were characterized. Hf 3 Ni 4 Ge 4 has an orthorhombic structure (space group Immm ) with lattice constants of a =1.2873 nm, b =0.6484 nm, and c =0.3892 nm and shows typical Curie-paramagnetic behavior between 2 K and 300 K and a metallic temperature dependence of the resistivity at temperatures between 10 and 250 K. HfPtGe has an orthorhombic structure (space group Pnma ) with lattice constants of a =0.6603 nm, b =0.3950 nm, and c =0.7617 nm and shows diamagnetism and a metallic temperature dependence of the resistivity.