Probing the magnetic ground state of single crystalline Ce₃TiSb₅

Abstract

Motivated by the report of superconductivity in RTiSb (R = La and Ce) and possibly NdTiSb at ∼4 K, we grew single crystals of LaTiSb and CeTiSb by the high-temperature solution method using Sn as a flux. While in both compounds we observed a superconducting transition at 3.7 K for resistivity and low-field magnetization, our data conclusively show that it arose from residual Sn flux present in the single crystals. In particular, the heat capacity data do not present any of the anomalies expected from a bulk superconducting transition. The anisotropic magnetic properties of CeTiSb, crystallizing in a hexagonal P6/mcm structure, were studied in detail. We find that the Ce ions in CeTiSb form a Kondo lattice and exhibited antiferromagnetic ordering at 5.5 K with a reduced moment and a moderately normalized Sommerfeld coefficient of 598 mJ/mol K. The characteristic single-ion Kondo energy scale was found to be ∼8 K. The magnetization data were subjected to a crystal electric field (CEF) analysis. The experimentally observed Schottky peak in the 4f-electron heat capacity of CeTiSb was reproduced fairly well by the energy levels derived from the CEF analysis.

Electrical Resistivity Measurements of Antiferromagnetic Compound Ce3TiSb5 under Pressure

“…The difference of the ρ(T) between Ce3TiBi5 and Ce3TiSb5 is considered to be due to the magnetic anisotropy, but microscopic studies as NMR and neutron diffraction measurements are needed in the future. We can also notice there is another feature of ρ(T) of Ce3TiSb5 which is a small anomaly at T * = 2.5 K. Ce3TiSb5 often contains Sn as an impurity phase at the crystal growth by a Sn-flux method, then the sudden decrease at about 3.5 K is often observed [11]. However, the anomaly at T * is also observed with applying higher magnetic field than the critical field of Sn.…”

“…Single-crystalline samples were grown by a Sn-flux method, as described in the literature by M. Matin et al [11]. Electrical resistivity was measured by a standard four-terminal method using indenter-type pressure cell.…”

“…193) and has identical crystal structure as Ce3TiBi5 [10]. Ce3TiSb5 also shows AFM transition, although the transition temperature of T N is 5.2 K and the direction of ordered Ce magnetic moments is presumed to differ from Ce 3 TiBi 5 from the anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility [11]. There is a possibility of odd-parity multipole ordering in Ce3TiSb5 due to the expected magnetic structure.…”

Ln3MBi5 (Ln=Pr, Nd, Sm; M=Zr, Hf): Intermetallics with Hypervalent Bismuth Chains

“…The Ln 3 MPn 5 (Ln=La−Nd; M=Ti, Zr, Hf, Mg, Mn, Nb; Pn=Bi, Sb) family, a 1D structure harboring hypervalent Pn 2− chains, displays rich chemical diversity, including a wide range of magnetic rare earth atoms [32–37] . Because of its chemical tunability, the Ln 3 MPn 5 family is known to host several complex magnetic phases, making it a strong material candidate for exploring the interplay between magnetism and topology [38–42] . As a result, finding additional members of this family is important due to their robust structure and tunable physical properties.…”

“…[32][33][34][35][36][37] Because of its chemical tunability, the Ln 3 MPn 5 family is known to host several complex magnetic phases, making it a strong material candidate for exploring the interplay between magnetism and topology. [38][39][40][41][42] As a result, finding additional members of this family is important due to their robust structure and tunable physical properties. In addition, there have not been detailed investigations of the valence state of M or Pn in Ln 3 MPn 5 , to the best of our knowledge.…”