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Intermetallics are chemical compounds formed by two metallic chemical elements. The resulting compounds are chemically different from either of the two constituents, and offer additional benefits or drawbacks, depending on the intended use of the substance. An intermetallic compound is different from an alloy, defined as a homogeneous mixture of metals. A commonly used example of an intermetallic is cementite - Fe₃C, present in many steels. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Circle-contradict. ... A chemical compound is a chemical substance formed from two or more elements, with a fixed ratio determining the composition. ... A chemical element, often called simply element, is a substance that cannot be divided or changed into different substances by ordinary chemical methods. ... An alloy is a combination, either in solution or compound, of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resulting material has metallic properties. ... Cementite or iron carbide is a chemical compound with the formula Fe3C, and an orthorhombic crystal structure. ...

Intermetallics is the short summarizing designation for such intermetallic phases and compounds, i.e. chemical compounds between two or more metals with crystal structures which differ from those of the constituent metals. In a mechanical context, such compounds often offer a compromise between ceramic and metallic properties when hardness and/or resistance to high temperatures is important enough to sacrifice some toughness and ease of processing. They can also display desirable magnetic, superconducting and chemical properties, due to their strong internal order and mixed (metallic and covalent/ionic) bonding, respectively. Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily loses electrons to form positive ions (cations) and has metallic bonds between metal atoms. ... Fixed Partial Denture, or Bridge The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός (keramikos). ... In materials science and metallurgy, toughness is the resistance to fracture of a material when stressed. ... Magnetic lines of force of a bar magnet shown by iron filings on paper In physics, magnetism is one of the phenomena by which materials exert an attractive or repulsive force on other materials. ...

Intermetallics have given rise to various novel materials developments. Some examples include alnico and the hydrogen storage materials in nickel metal hydride batteries. Ni₃Al, which is the hardening phase in the familiar nickel-base superalloys, and the various titanium aluminides have also attracted interest for turbine blade applications, while the latter is also used in very small quantities for grain refinement of titanium alloys. Alnico alloys are composed primarily of cobalt, nickel, and aluminium with the addition of iron, copper, and sometimes titanium. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... Modern, high capacity NiMH rechargeable batteries A nickel metal hydride (or NiMH) battery is a type of rechargeable battery similar to a nickel-cadmium (NiCad) battery but which does not contain expensive (and environmentally risky) cadmium. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nickel, Ni, 28 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 10, 4, d Appearance lustrous, metallic and silvery with a gold tinge Atomic mass 58. ... General Name, Symbol, Number aluminium, Al, 13 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 3, p Appearance silvery Standard atomic weight 26. ... General Name, Symbol, Number titanium, Ti, 22 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 4, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Standard atomic weight 47. ... Grain refinement is a set of techniques used in metallurgy to ensure that the crystallites (grains) that make up a metallic object are sufficiently small, so as to increase its strength. ... Titanium alloys are metallic materials which contain a mixture of titanium and other chemical elements. ...

Intermetallics of aluminium and gold are a significant cause of wire bond failures in semiconductor devices and other microelectronics devices. There are five of them - the AuAl₂ one is known as purple plague, the others are collectively known as white plague. General Name, Symbol, Number aluminium, Al, 13 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 3, p Appearance silvery Standard atomic weight 26. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... Wire bonding is a method of making interconnections between a microchip and the outside world as part of semiconductor device fabrication. ... Semiconductor devices are electronic components that exploit the electronic properties of semiconductor materials, principally silicon, germanium and gallium arsenide. ... Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics. ... It has been suggested that White plague (intermetallic) be merged into this article or section. ... Gold-aluminium intermetallics are intermetallic compounds of gold and aluminium that occur at contacts between the two metals. ...

==Intermetallics, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim 1995, 165 pages.

See also

• Alloy
• Superalloy
• Maraging steel
• Kirkendall effect
• Complex metallic alloys

An alloy is a combination, either in solution or compound, of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resulting material has metallic properties. ... A superalloy, or high-performance alloy, is an alloy able to withstand extreme temperatures that would destroy conventional metals like steel and aluminum. ... Maraging steel is an iron-based steel alloy which is known for possessing superior strength without losing malleability. ... The Kirkendall effect is the migration of markers that occurs when markers are placed at the interface between an alloy and a metal, and the whole is heated to a temperature where diffusion is possible; the markers will move towards the alloy region. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

External links

• Journal named Intermetallics
• Intermetallic Creation and Growth – an article on the Wire Bond Website of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
• Intermetallics (encyclopedia article)
• Intermetallics (scientific journal)
• Intermetallics project (IMPRESS Intermetallics project at the European Space Agency)