This article covers the use of indium as a potential metal solvent for the crystal growth of europium and ytterbium-based intermetallic compounds. A brief view about the advantage of metal flux technique and the use of indium as reactive and non-reactive flux are outlined. Large single crystals of EuGe₂, EuCoGe₃ and Yb₂AuGe₃ compounds were obtained in high yield from the reactions of the elements in liquid indium. The results presented here demonstrate that considerable advances in the discovery of single crystal growth of complex phases are achievable utilizing molten metals as solvents.

High quality single crystals of SmCu₆In₆ were obtained from the reactions run in excess liquid indium and characterized by means of single crystal X-ray diffraction data. SmCu₆In₆ crystallizes in the YCu₆In₆ structure type, tetragonal space group $I4/mmm$ and lattice constants are 𝑎 = 𝑏 = 9.2036$(3) Å and 𝑐 = 5.4232(3) Å. SmCu$_{6−x}$In$_{6+x}$ (𝑥 = 0, 1, 2) compounds were obtained using arc melting and characterized using powder X-ray diffraction. Magnetic susceptibility data follow modified Curie-Weiss law behaviour above 50K and the experimentally measured magnetic moment values in SmCu₄In₈, SmCu₅In₇ and SmCu₆In₆ are 0.83 $\mu_B$, 1.45 $\mu_B$ and 0.90 $\mu_B$ per Sm atom, respectively. SmCu₅In₇ and SmCu₆In₆ compounds show antiferromagnetic ordering at $T_N = 7.8$ K, and no magnetic ordering was observed for SmCu₄In₈ down to 2 K. Electrical resistivity measurements show that all compounds are of metallic nature.

Sm₃Ni₅Al₁₉ was obtained as large rod shaped single crystals from reactive aluminium flux. Single crystal X-ray diffraction suggests that Sm₃Ni₅Al₁₉ crystallizes in the Gd₃Ni₅Al₁₉ structure type, orthorhombic space group $Cmcm$ and lattice constants 𝑎 = 4.0974(1) Å, 𝑏 = 16.0172(6)Å and 𝑐 = 27.0774(10) Å. Sm₃Ni₅Al₁₉ is a member of the Sm$_{2n+m}$Ni$_{4n+m}$Al$_{15n+4m}$ series with n = 1 and m = 1. The crystal structure of Sm₃Ni₅Al₁₉ consists of SmNiAl₄ and Sm₂Al₄Al₁₅ slabs intergrown along the 𝑏-axis. Magnetic susceptibility data on Sm₃Ni₅Al₁₉ confirms the paramagnetic nature with a complicated magnetic ordering below 18 K. The inverse susceptibility data follows modified Curie-Weiss law above 150 K with effective magnetic moment 1.3 $\mu_{\text{B}}$/Sm atoms suggests trivalent Sm atoms.