Abstract
Binary neodymium silicides were thoroughly investigated with respect to their crystal chemistry and physical properties. Formation and structure types of all known binary phases were confirmed. Moreover, the crystal structure determination of a phase previously reported to exist with approximate composition Nd 3Si 4 was successfully performed from X-ray powder data on the basis of the isotypic orthorhombic Ho 3Si 4-type structure. The magnetic properties of these Nd silicides are characterized by the onset of ferromagnetic order below 120 K. Nd 5Si 3 shows a canted spin structure, which might eventually also be the case for NdSi ( T C=45 K). Nd 5Si 4 ( T C=67 K) and NdSi 1.4 ( T C=75 K) exhibit magnetic behavior as typically observed in narrow domain wall ferromagnets favoring easy axis anisotropy. NdSi 2− x (I) ( T C=9 K) seems to adopt a more complex non-linear spin arrangement. NdSi 2− x (II) exhibits an antiferromagnetic transition at a Neél temperature of T N=10 K followed by a spin reorientation towards a parallel spin alignment at 9 K. The electrical resistivities resemble the temperature dependence of metals, with characteristic changes of slope of the ρ( T) curves at the Curie temperatures. The ρ( T) plots follow T 2 relations as predicted for isotropic ferromagnets, with the exception of NdSi 2− x (I) ( T 3.6, as usually observed for antiferromagnets).
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