The Crystal Structures of the RCo<SUB>5</SUB> and R<SUB>2</SUB>Co<SUB>17</SUB> Types in Polystyrene Latexes

Polystyrene latexes with particles of diameters 250 and 500 nm are observed under a metallurgical microscope.The crystal structures of the RCo5 and R2Co17 types appear stably through thermal motion of particles, where R means rare earth atoms. A variety of defects such as diffuse interfaces, dislocations, point defects, amorphous structures, or segregations of large and small particles are distinctly observed in these structures. Polystyrene latexes are found to be useful to study on a atomic scale the crystal structures and their kinetic behaviors of intermetallic compounds of the R-Co system.