Congratulations to Laura Agnarelli for the successful completion of her PhD thesis!
 

During her PhD studies, Laura focused on the investigations of intermetallic compounds containing Be and Mg with late transition metals with the aim to find new semiconductors.

These materials are characterized by a reduced number of valence electrons which, from a chemical bonding point of view, led to the formation of polar multiatomic bonds and by a charge transfer which is proved to play an important role for stabilizing these crystallographic arrangements. During the study of the Mg–Pt binary system, two new phases, Mg₃Pt₂ and Mg_29-xPt_4+y were identified. Mg₃Pt₂ it is characterized by the formation of Pt anionic chains, stabilized by a complex multiatomic interactions which involve also Mg atoms. Mg_29-xPt_4+y belongs to the complex intermetallic compounds and a combined study of single crystal and chemical bonding analysis revealed for Mg_29-xPt_4+y an unusual mixed Mg/Pt site occupation around the origin of the unit cell and space-separation of regions containing hetero- and homoatomic bonds involving three to six partners, quite new for the complex intermetallic compounds, which in general show a homogenic distribution of heteroatomic interactions. Additionally, the Be–Ru binary system was explored. The study led to the redetermination of the crystal structure of Be₃Ru₂, Be₂Ru and Be₃Ru each of them featuring unique structural motifs and bonding patterns. Additionally, new structural prototypes, Be₇Ru₄ and Be₁₂Ru₇, were identified in the phase diagram.

Laura’s work has so far resulted in the following publications, with several more works currently in preparation:

• L. Agnarelli et al. "Stability of the atomic arrangement in Laves phases Be₂Fe_1–xOs_x (0≤ x ≤ 0.75) and Be₂Fe_1–xRu_x (x≈ 0.5)." Journal of Alloys and Compounds 968 (2023): 171911.
• L. Agnarelli et al. "Structural complexity in the apparently simple crystal structure of Be2Ru." Chemistry–A European Journal (2023): e202300578.
• L. Agnarelli et al. "Mg_29–xPt_4+y: Chemical Bonding Inhomogeneity and Structural Complexity." Inorganic Chemistry 61, no. 40 (2022): 16148-16155.
• L. Agnarelli et al. "Be₃Ru: Polar Multiatomic Bonding in the Closest Packing of Atoms." ChemistryOpen 11, no. 6 (2022): e202200118.
• L. Agnarelli et al. “Mg₃Pt₂: Anionic chains in a Eu₃Ga₂-type structure.” Inorganic chemistry, (2021), 60, pp.13681-13690.

Laura is moving on to a postdoctoral position in the CRISMAT lab at the CNRS in France. We wish Laura all the best for her future.