Structure, magnetization, and low-temperature impedance response of polycrystalline InSe intercalated with nickel

Abstract

A solid-phase mechanochemical technology of production of polycrystalline InSе intercalated with Ni up to 1.25 at. % has been developed. The x-ray and phase analyses of the produced NixInSe samples confirm their homogeneity and demonstrate a nonmonotonic Ni-content dependence of the lattice constant along the axis normal to the layers. Analysis of the low-temperature (77 K) impedance response within the frequency region 10–3–106 Hz shows a good correlation between the change in interlayer distance and in the band conductivity observed with increasing Ni concentration. However, the Ni concentration dependence of specific magnetization demonstrates an irregular increase at x ∼ 1 and does not coincide with the former. Such behavior is explained by the proposed theoretical model, which at the same time unveiled the mechanism behind the increasing contribution of free carrier concentration to conductivity – hybridization of electron orbitals of guest nickel and the lattice layers.