Search for: All records

Polycrystalline IrGe4 was synthesized by annealing elements at 800 °C for 240 h, and the composition was confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. IrGe4 adopts a chiral crystal structure (space group P3121) instead of a polar crystal structure (P31), which was corroborated by the convergent-beam electron diffraction and Rietveld refinements using synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction data. The crystal structure features layers of IrGe8 polyhedra along the b axis, and the layers are connected by edge- and corner-sharing. Each layer consists of corner-shared [Ir3Ge20] trimers, which are formed by three IrGe8 polyhedra connected by edge-sharing. Temperature-dependent resistivity indicates metallic behavior. The magnetoresistance increases with increasing applied magnetic field, and the nonsaturating magnetoresistance reaches 11.5% at 9 T and 10 K. The Hall resistivity suggests that holes are the majority carrier type, with a carrier concentration of 4.02 × 1021 cm–3 at 300 K. Electronic band structures calculated by density functional theory reveal a Weyl point with a chiral charge of +3 above the Fermi level. 

Cu2TSiS4 (T = Mn and Fe) polycrystalline and single-crystal materials were prepared with high-temperature solid-state and chemical vapor transport methods, respectively. The polar crystal structure (space group Pmn21) consists of chains of corner-sharing and distorted CuS4, Mn/FeS4, and SiS4 tetrahedra, which is confirmed by Rietveld refinement using neutron powder diffraction data, X-ray single-crystal refinement, electron diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and second harmonic generation (SHG) techniques. Magnetic measurements indicate that both compounds order antiferromagnetically at 8 and 14 K, respectively, which is supported by the temperature-dependent (100–2 K) neutron powder diffraction data. Additional magnetic reflections observed at 2 K can be modeled by magnetic propagation vectors k = (1/2,0,1/2) and k = (1/2,1/2,1/2) for Cu2MnSiS4 and Cu2FeSiS4, respectively. The refined antiferromagnetic structure reveals that the Mn/Fe spins are canted away from the ac plane by about 14°, with the total magnetic moments of Mn and Fe being 4.1(1) and 2.9(1) μB, respectively. Both compounds exhibit an SHG response with relatively modest second-order nonlinear susceptibilities. Density functional theory calculations are used to describe the electronic band structures. 

Polycrystalline LiMo8O10 was prepared in a sealed Mo crucible at 1380 °C for 48 h using the conventional high-temperature solid-state method. The polar tetragonal crystal structure (space group I41md) is confirmed based on the Rietveld refinement of powder neutron diffraction and 7Li/6Li solid-state NMR. The crystal structure features infinite chains of Mo4O5 (i.e., Mo2Mo4/2O6/2O6/3) as a repeat unit containing edge-sharing Mo6 octahedra with strong Mo–Mo metal bonding along the chain. X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy of the Mo-L3 edge is consistent with the formal Mo valence/configuration. Magnetic measurements reveal that LiMo8O10 is paramagnetic down to 1.8 K. Temperature-dependent resistivity [ρ(T)] measurement indicates a semiconducting behavior that can be fitted with Mott’s variable range hopping conduction mechanism in the temperature range of 215 and 45 K. The ρ(T) curve exhibits an exponential increase below 5 K with a large ratio of ρ1.8/ρ300 = 435. LiMo8O10 shows a negative field-dependent magnetoresistance between 2 and 25 K. Heat capacity measurement fitted with the modified Debye model yields the Debye temperature of 365 K.