Magnetic and transport measurements indicate FeAl 2 to be an ordered intermetallic spin glass, with canonical behavior including a susceptibility cusp at T f ϭ35 K and frequency-dependent susceptibility below T f. The field-cooled and zero-field-cooled magnetization diverge below T f , with hysteresis characteristic of a spin glass. A resistivity minimum just above T f is explained in terms of coherent magnetic scattering. This behavior is common to spin glasses with short-range interactions among f-electron moments and indicates a similar spin configuration in these materials.

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Magnetic properties of new intermetallics FeVSn and CoVSn are reported. Both materials belong to the group of semiHeusler compounds, with lattice parameters of 0.593 and 0.598 nm respectively in a cubic MgAgAs structure. X-ray investigations indicate partial atomic ordering in both cases. Ferromagnetic order was observed in FeVSn with c = 86 K. The saturation moment obtained by versus measurements at 4 K has a value of 0.45 B , indicating that FeVSn is a weak itinerant ferromagnet.CoVSn was found to be paramagnetic with no magnetic ordering down to 2 K. Room-temperature 51 V NMR spectra were used as a local probe of the magnetic behavior of these materials. The results indicate that V orbitals play a strong role in the magnetism of FeVSn. Results for CoVSn are consistent with predicted semiconducting or semimetallic behavior for this material.