Anisotropic magnetic behavior of Nd3⁢ScBi5 and Pr3⁡ScBi5 single crystals

Abstract

We report an investigation of the magnetic, thermodynamic, and transport properties of single-crystalline Nd3⁢ScBi5 and Pr3⁡ScBi5. Both compounds crystallize in the hexagonal 𝑃⁢63/𝑚⁢𝑐⁢𝑚 space group that is common to related materials with rare-earth atoms that form twisted kagome nets. Nd3⁢ScBi5 undergoes two successive antiferromagnetic transitions, at 𝑇𝑁=5.6K and 𝑇2=4.7K. When a magnetic field is applied along [100], both 𝑇𝑁 and 𝑇2 are suppressed with increasing field, and multiple metamagnetic transitions are observed; in-plane anisotropy is demonstrated by a slight broadening and movement of the metamagnetic transitions when the field is applied along [110]. For H∥[001], 𝑇𝑁 and 𝑇2 exhibit only a weak field dependence and metamagnetic transitions are not observed. The magnetoresistance and Hall effect respond strongly to the metamagnetic transitions and further motivate a detailed characterization of the magnetic structures under applied fields. Pr3⁡ScBi5, in contrast, undergoes a single antiferromagnetic transition at 𝑇𝑁=5.3K and a single metamagnetic transition at higher fields. These findings place Nd3⁢ScBi5 and Pr3⁡ScBi5 as promising systems for exploring anisotropic magnetism and field-driven magnetic phase transitions in intermetallic compounds.