  The chapter discusses the structural and magnetic properties of equiatomic
ternary RTX compounds, where R represents rare earth, T is transition metal,
and X belongs to the p block elements. RTX compounds exhibit a variety of
crystal structures, which leads to a range of magnetic phenomenon ranging from
long range antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic ordering, unconventional
superconductivity, magnetic frustration to spin ices. Coexistence of various
magnetic phenomenon result in many exotic properties, which make these
materials promising for next generation technological applications. In RTX
family of compounds, most transition metals, except manganese, Mn do not
contribute significantly to the magnetic moment and behave as non-magnetic. The
lack of magnetic behaviour in the transition metal sublattices of these ternary
compounds may be attributed to hybridization between p electron states of X
atom and d electron states of the transition metal, resulting in the filling of
the d band. The dominant interaction in these compounds is of Ruderman Kittel
Kasuya Yosida type due to the localized nature of the 4f electrons in the rare
earths. The magnetic transition temperature in these materials varies from
ultra-low to high temperatures, making them suitable for integration into
devices operating at room temperature. The RTX series discussed here
encompasses all rare earth elements, a range of transition metals, and various
p-block elements such as Al, Ga, In, Si, Ge, Sn, Sb, and Bi. Most of the
materials studied are arc melted polycrystalline materials with some in the
form of single crystal or thin films.
