Crystal, electronic structure and hydrogenation properties of the MgNiGe cluster phase with a new type of polyhedron.

The ternary germanide MgNiGe (cubic, space group Fm-3m, cF116) belongs to the structural family based on the ThMn-type. The Ge1 and Ge2 atoms fully occupy the 4a (m-3m symmetry) and 24d (m.mm) sites, respectively.