Abstract
Y3AlC has been synthesized by arc melting and subsequent annealing. Rietveld analysis of the powder x-ray diffraction (XRD) data confirms cubic Pm-3m structure. Electrical resistivity (ρ) of Y3AlC exhibits metallic behaviour. No sign of superconductivity is observed down to the lowest measurement temperatures of 4.2K in ρ, and 2K in magnetic susceptibility (χ) and specific heat (Cp) measurements. The value of the electronic specific heat coefficient γ is 1.36mJ/K2mol from which the density of states (DOS) at the Fermi energy (EF) is obtained as 0.57 states/eV.unit cell. The value of Debye temperature θD is estimated to be 315K. Electronic band structure calculations of Y3AlC reveal a pseudo-gap in the DOS at EF leading to a small value of 0.5states/eVunit cell which matches quite well with that obtained from γ. Non-zero value of the DOS indicates metallic behaviour as confirmed by our ρ data. Covalent and ionic bonding seem to co-exist with metallic bonding in Y3AlC as indicated by van Arkel- Ketelaar triangle for Zintl-like systems.
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