Synthesis, Structure, and Physical Properties of YbNi{sub 3}Al{sub 9.23}

Journal Article · Thu Nov 04 04:00:00 EDT 2010 · Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984/23/8/086002· OSTI ID:1051781

Tobash, P H; Jiang, Y; Ronning, F; Booth, C H; Thompson, J D; Scott, B L; Bauer, E D

The physical properties of YbNi{sub 3}Al{sub 9.23}, including the crystal structure, magnetization, specific heat, valence, and electrical resistivity, are reported. Single crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that the compound crystallizes with the rhombohedral space group R32 and has unit cell parameters a=7.2443(3) Å and c=27.251(3) Å with some crystallographic disorder on an Al site. The compound orders antiferromagnetically at T{sub N}=3 K despite the presence of strong ferromagnetic correlations, accompanied by a spin flop-like transition to a moment-aligned rate above 0.1 T. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate a localized Yb{sup 3+} electronic configuration, while the Sommerfeld coefficient in the magnetically ordered state was determined to be approximately 135 mJ/mol-K{sup 2}, suggesting moderately heavy fermion behavior. Therefore, these data indicate a balance between competing Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) and Kondo interactions in YbNi{sub 3}Al{sub 9.23} with a somewhat dominant RKKY interaction that leads to a relatively high ordering temperature.

• Research Organization: Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: Chemical Sciences Division
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1051781
• Report Number(s): LBNL-5160E
• Journal Information: Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter, Journal Name: Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 23; ISSN 0953-8984
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
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