Holmium disilicide

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Holmium disilicide (HoSi2) is a compound made from holmium and silicon. Also called holmium silicide or holmium(II) silicide, it is a rare-earth metal silicide with interesting magnetic, electronic, and thermal properties.

Key facts
- Formula: HoSi2; molar mass: 221.10 g/mol; density: about 7.1 g/cm3
- Appearance: dark gray to black crystals or powder
- Structure: hexagonal crystal structure (space group P6/mmm)

How it’s made
- Typically prepared by heating elemental holmium and silicon together in an inert atmosphere (such as argon) at temperatures above 1000 °C.

Why it matters
- Studied for magnetic phase transitions and electronic structure
- Explored for potential thermoelectric applications
- Considered for high-temperature electrical contacts and silicide-based gate electrodes in microelectronics

Overall, HoSi2 is not widely used commercially but is of interest in specialized research areas.