The intermetallic compounds Yb2Ge, Eu2Ge and Eu2Si were synthesized from the elements by HF melting in tantalum crucibles. The three phases crystallize in the PbCl2 structure type, as shown by Rietveld refinement of powder pattern intensity data. The structure of Yb2Ge was confirmed by a single crystal study. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.