Single-crystal growth, structure and thermal transport properties of the metallic antiferromagnet Zintl-phase β-EuIn2As2

D S Wu; S H Na; Y J Li; X B Zhou; W Wu; Y T Song; P Zheng; Z Li; J L Luo

doi:10.1039/d3cp04524b

Single-crystal growth, structure and thermal transport properties of the metallic antiferromagnet Zintl-phase β-EuIn₂As₂

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2024 Mar 13;26(11):8695-8703. doi: 10.1039/d3cp04524b.

Authors

D S Wu^{1

2}, S H Na^{1

2}, Y J Li^{1

2}, X B Zhou^{1

2}, W Wu^{1

2}, Y T Song^{1

2}, P Zheng^{1

2}, Z Li^{1

2

3}, J L Luo^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China. [email protected].
² School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
³ Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, Guangdong 523808, China.

PMID: 37947451
DOI: 10.1039/d3cp04524b

Abstract

Zintl-phase materials have attracted significant research interest owing to the interplay of magnetism and strong spin-orbit coupling, providing a prominent material platform for axion electrodynamics. Here, we report the single-crystal growth, structure, magnetic and electrical/thermal transport properties of the antiferromagnet layer Zintl-phase compound β-EuIn₂As₂. Importantly, the new layered structure of β-EuIn₂As₂, in rhombohedral (R3̄m) symmetry, contains triangular layers of Eu²⁺ ions. The in-plane resistivity ρ(H, T) measurements reveal metal behavior with an antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition (T_N ∼ 23.5 K), which is consistent with the heat capacity C_p(H, T) and magnetic susceptibility χ(H, T) measurements. Negative MR was observed in the temperature range from 2 K to 20 K with a maximum MR ratio of 0.06. Unique 4f⁷J = S = 7/2 Eu²⁺ spins were supposed magnetically order along the c-axis. The Seebeck coefficient shows a maximum thermopower |S_max| of about 40 μV K^-1. The kink around 23 K in the Seebeck coefficient originates from the effect of the antiferromagnetic phase on the electron band structure, while the pronounced thermal conductivity peak at around 10 K is attributed to the phonon-phonon Umklapp scattering. The results suggest that the Eu²⁺ spin arrangement plays an important role in the magnetic, electrical, and thermal transport properties in β-EuIn₂As₂, which might be helpful for future potential technical applications.