Isothermal section of the Dy-Cr-Ge system at 1073 K

The phase equilibrium diagram of the Dy-Cr-Ge ternary system was constructed over the whole concentration range at 1073 K using methods of powder X-ray diffractometry, metallography, and electron microprobe analysis. Three ternary compounds are formed in the Dy-Cr-Ge system at the annealing temperature: Dy117Cr52Ge112 (Tb117Fe52Ge112 structure type, space group Fm-3m, a = 2.8723(8) nm), DyCr6Ge6 (SmMn6Sn6 structure type, space group P6/mmm, a = 0.51642(1), c = 0.82767(2) nm), DyCr1-xGe2 (CeNiSi2 structure type, space group Cmcm, a = 0.41249(5)-0.4140(3), b = 1.58287(2)-1.5890(7), c = 0.40048(5)-0.4001(2) nm). The DyCr1-xGe2 compound with CeNiSi2 structure type is characterized by a small homogeneity range limited by the DyCr0.28Ge2 and DyCr0.30Ge2 compositions. The solubility of chromium in the binary germanide Dy5Ge3 (Mn5Si3-type) extends up to 4 at. %. The DFT calculations were used to evaluate the thermodynamic, elastic, and electrical properties of the DyCr1-xGe2 compound.