Flux Synthesis of MgNiBi and Its Structural Relationship to NiBi.

MgNiBi was grown from the reaction of magnesium and nickel in excess bismuth flux. It forms as large, malleable crystals with a new structure type in orthorhombic space group . The structure contains a building block common to Ni-Bi binary phases-nickel zigzag chains running along one direction and surrounded by bismuth. Magnetic susceptibility and transport measurements indicate that the compound is metallic; this is supported by calculations of density of states. Crystal orbital Hamilton population analyses indicate that Ni-Bi interactions are the strongest bonding interactions in the structure, whereas Bi-Bi bonding between the layers is negligible, making MgNiBi a potential two-dimensional material.