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1. Enhanced Néel temperature in EuSnP under pressure

   https://doi.org/10.1039/c9dt00449a  

   Gui, Xin ; Finkelstein, Gregory J. ; Graf, David E. ; Wei, Kaya ; Zhang, Dongzhou ; Baumbach, Ryan E. ; Dera, Przemyslaw ; Xie, Weiwei ( April 2019 , Dalton Transactions)

   We present the combined results of single crystal X-ray diffraction, physical properties characterization, and theoretical assessment of EuSnP under high pressure. Single crystals of EuSnP prepared using Sn self-flux crystallize in the tetragonal NbCrN-type crystal structure (S.G. P 4/ nmm ) at ambient pressure. Previous studies have shown that for Eu ions, seven unpaired electrons impart a 2+ oxidation state. Assuming the oxidation states of Eu to be +2 and P to be −3, each Sn will donate one electron, with one p valence electron left for forming a weak Sn–Sn bond. According to the high-pressure single crystal X-ray diffraction measurements, no structural phase transition was observed up to ∼6.2 GPa. Temperature-dependent resistivity measurements up to 2.15 GPa on single crystals indicate that the phase-transition temperature occurring at the Néel temperature ( T N ) is significantly enhanced under high pressure. The robust crystallography and enhanced antiferromagnetic transition temperatures can be rationalized by the electronic structure calculations and chemical bonding analysis. The increasing Eu–P bonding interaction is consistent with the lattice parameter changing and enhanced T N . Moreover, the molecular orbital diagram shows that the weak Sn–Sn bond can be squeezed under pressure, acting as a compression buffer to stabilize the structure. 

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2. Isoelectronic perturbations to f - d -electron hybridization and the enhancement of hidden order in URu 2 Si 2

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2026591118  

   Wolowiec, Christian T. ; Kanchanavatee, Noravee ; Huang, Kevin ; Ran, Sheng ; Breindel, Alexander J. ; Pouse, Naveen ; Sasmal, Kalyan ; Baumbach, Ryan E. ; Chappell, Greta ; Riseborough, Peter S. ; et al ( May 2021 , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   Electrical resistivity measurements were performed on single crystals of URu_2–xOs_xSi₂up tox= 0.28 under hydrostatic pressure up toP= 2 GPa. As the Os concentration,x, is increased, 1) the lattice expands, creating an effective negative chemical pressureP_ch(x); 2) the hidden-order (HO) phase is enhanced and the system is driven toward a large-moment antiferromagnetic (LMAFM) phase; and 3) less external pressureP_cis required to induce the HO→LMAFM phase transition. We compare the behavior of theT(x,P) phase boundary reported here for the URu_2-xOs_xSi₂system with previous reports of enhanced HO in URu₂Si₂upon tuning withPor similarly in URu_2–xFe_xSi₂upon tuning with positiveP_ch(x). It is noteworthy that pressure, Fe substitution, and Os substitution are the only known perturbations that enhance the HO phase and induce the first-order transition to the LMAFM phase in URu₂Si₂. We present a scenario in which the application of pressure or the isoelectronic substitution of Fe and Os ions for Ru results in an increase in the hybridization of the U-5f-electron and transition metald-electron states which leads to electronic instability in the paramagnetic phase and the concurrent formation of HO (and LMAFM) in URu₂Si₂. Calculations in the tight-binding approximation are included to determine the strength of hybridization between the U-5f-electron states and thed-electron states of Ru and its isoelectronic Fe and Os substituents in URu₂Si₂.

    

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3. Measured and simulated thermoelectric properties of FeAs 2−x Se x ( x = 0.30–1.0): from marcasite to arsenopyrite structure

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ma00371a  

   Perez, Christopher J. ; Devlin, Kasey P. ; Skaggs, Callista M. ; Tan, Xiaoyan ; Frank, Corey E. ; Badger, Jackson R. ; Kang, Chang-Jong ; Emge, Thomas J. ; Kauzlarich, Susan M. ; Taufour, Valentin ; et al ( August 2020 , Materials Advances)

   null (Ed.)

   FeAs 2−x Se x ( x = 0.30–1.0) samples were synthesized as phase pure powders by conventional solid-state techniques and as single crystals ( x = 0.50) from chemical vapor transport. The composition of the crystals was determined to be Fe 1.025(3) As 1.55(3) Se 0.42(3) , crystallizing in the marcasite structure type, Pnnm space group. FeAs 2−x Se x (0 < x < 1) was found to undergo a marcasite-to-arsenopyrite ( P 2 1 / c space group) structural phase transition at x ∼ 0.65. The structures are similar, with the marcasite structure best described as a solid solution of As/Se, whereas the arsenopyrite has ordered anion sites. Magnetic susceptibility and thermoelectric property measurements from 300–2 K were performed on single crystals, FeAs 1.50 Se 0.50 . Paramagnetic behavior is observed from 300 to 17 K and a Seebeck coefficient of −33 μV K −1 , an electrical resistivity of 4.07 mΩ cm, and a very low κ l of 0.22 W m −1 K −1 at 300 K are observed. In order to determine the impact of the structural transition on the high-temperature thermoelectric properties, polycrystalline FeAs 2−x Se x ( x = 0.30, 0.75, 0.85, 1.0) samples were consolidated into dense pellets for measurements of thermoelectric properties. The x = 0.85 sample shows the best thermoelectric performance. The electronic structure of FeAsSe was calculated with DFT and transport properties were approximately modeled above 500 K. 

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4. In-plane uniaxial pressure-induced out-of-plane antiferromagnetic moment and critical fluctuations in BaFe2As2

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19421-5  

   Liu, Panpan ; Klemm, Mason L. ; Tian, Long ; Lu, Xingye ; Song, Yu ; Tam, David W. ; Schmalzl, Karin ; Park, J. T. ; Li, Yu ; Tan, Guotai ; et al ( December 2020 , Nature Communications)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract A small in-plane external uniaxial pressure has been widely used as an effective method to acquire single domain iron pnictide BaFe 2 As 2 , which exhibits twin-domains without uniaxial strain below the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural (nematic) transition temperature T s . Although it is generally assumed that such a pressure will not affect the intrinsic electronic/magnetic properties of the system, it is known to enhance the antiferromagnetic (AF) ordering temperature T N ( <  T s ) and create in-plane resistivity anisotropy above T s . Here we use neutron polarization analysis to show that such a strain on BaFe 2 As 2 also induces a static or quasi-static out-of-plane ( c -axis) AF order and its associated critical spin fluctuations near T N / T s . Therefore, uniaxial pressure necessary to detwin single crystals of BaFe 2 As 2 actually rotates the easy axis of the collinear AF order near T N / T s , and such effects due to spin-orbit coupling must be taken into account to unveil the intrinsic electronic/magnetic properties of the system. 

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5. Properties of bulk scandium nitride crystals grown by physical vapor transport

   https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5141808  

   H. Al-Atabi, Q. Zheng ( January 2020 , Applied physics letters)

   In this study, the growth of scandium nitride (100) single crystals with high electron mobility and high thermal conductivity was demonstrated by physical vapor transport (PVT). Single crystals were grown in the temperature range of 1900 C–2140 C under a nitrogen pressure between 15 and 20 Torr. Single crystal tungsten (100) was used as a nearly lattice constant matched seed crystal. Growth for 20 days resulted in a 2mm thick crystal. Hall-effect measurements revealed that the layers were n-type with a 300 K electron concentration and a mobility of 2.17 x 1021 cm-3 and 73 cm2/V s, respectively. Consequently, this ScN crystal had a low electrical resistivity, 3.94 x 10- 5 Xcm. The thermal conductivity was in the range of 51–56W/mK, three times higher than those in previous reports for ScN thin films. This study demonstrates the viability of the PVT crystal growth method for producing high quality bulk scandium nitride single crystals. 

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