Antiferromagnetism in EuNiGe3

Abstract

The synthesis and crystallographic and physical properties of polycrystalline EuNiGe3 are reported. EuNiGe3 crystallizes in the noncentrosymmetric body-centered tetragonal BaNiSn3-type structure. The physical property data consistently demonstrate that this is a metallic system in which Eu spins S = 7/2 order antiferromagnetically at a temperature TN = 13.6 K. Magnetic susceptibility chi data for T > TN indicate that the Eu atoms have spin 7/2 with g = 2, that the Ni atoms are nonmagnetic, and that the dominant interactions between the Eu spins are ferromagnetic. Thus we propose that EuNiGe3 has a collinear A-type antiferromagnetic structure. A fit of chi(T < TN) by our molecular field theory is consistent with a collinear magnetic structure. Electrical resistivity rho data from TN to 350 K are fitted by the Bloch-Gruneisen model for electron-phonon scattering, yielding a Debye temperature of 265(2) K. A strong decrease in rho occurs below TN due to loss of spin-disorder scattering. Heat capacity data at 25 K < T < 300 K are fitted by the Debye model, yielding the same Debye temperature 268(2) K as found from rho(T). The extracted magnetic heat capacity is consistent with S = 7/2. The magnetic entropy at TN = 13.6 K is 83% of the expected asymptotic high-T value, with the remainder recovered by 30 K.