Magnetic properties and magnetic structures of RCo xSn 2 (R=Gd–Er) compounds

Abstract

Magnetic properties of RCo x Sn 2 (R=Gd–Er) stannides, determined on the basis of magnetic and powder diffraction data, are reported. The compounds crystallize in the orthorhombic CeNiSn 2-type structure. Magnetic and neutron diffraction measurements (the latter for R=Tb and Ho) show that all the compounds are antiferromagnets with Néel temperatures of 16.5 K (R=Gd), 18.8 K (R=Tb), 7 K (R=Dy), 5.6 K (R=Ho) and 4.5 K (R=Er). The neutron diffraction data indicate the presence of collinear magnetic structures described by the propagation vector k=(0, 0, 1 2 ) for R=Tb and k=( 1 2 , 1 2 , 0 ) for R=Ho. The determined magnetic structures of RCo x Sn 2 (R=Tb, Ho) are similar to those observed in the isostructural RNi x Sn 2.