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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Synthesis and Microdiffraction at Extreme Pressures and Temperatures
Published on: October 7, 2013
High-Pressure Synthesis and Chemical Bonding of Barium Trisilicide BaSi₃
Julia-Maria Hübner1, Lev Akselrud2, Walter Schnelle3
1Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Physik fester Stoffe, Nöthnitzer Straße 40, 01187 Dresden, Germany. Julia.Huebner@cpfs.mpg.de.
Abstract:
BaSi₃ is obtained at pressures between 12(2) and 15(2) GPa and temperatures from 800(80) and 1050(105) K applied for one to five hours before quenching. The new trisilicide crystallizes in the space group I 4 ¯ 2m (no. 121) and adopts a unique atomic arrangement which is a distorted variant of the CaGe₃ type. At ambient pressure and 570(5) K, the compound decomposes in an exothermal reaction into (hP3)BaSi₂ and two amorphous silicon-rich phases. Chemical bonding analysis reveals covalent bonding in the silicon partial structure and polar multicenter interactions between the silicon layers and the barium atoms. The temperature dependence of electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate metallic behavior.
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