A powder neutron diffraction study of the metallic ferromagnet Co 3Sn 2S 2

Abstract

Variable-temperature powder neutron diffraction data reveal that Co 3Sn 2S 2 crystallizes in the shandite structure (space group R 3 ¯ m , a = 5.36855(3) Å, c = 13.1903(1) Å at 300 K). The structural relationship between Co 3Sn 2S 2 and the intermetallic compound CoSn, both of which contain Kagomé nets of cobalt atoms, is discussed. Resistivity and Seebeck coefficient measurements for Co 3Sn 2S 2 are consistent with metallic behaviour. Magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that Co 3Sn 2S 2 orders ferromagnetically at 180(10) K, with a saturation moment of 0.29 μ B per cobalt atom at 5 K. The onset of magnetic ordering is accompanied by marked anomalies in the electrical transport properties.