Magnetic Behaviour and Electronic Structure of the R₂PdSi₃(R = Ce, Nd, Tb-Er) Compounds

Abstract

The magnetic properties including the magnetic structure were determined by magnetometric and neutron diffraction measurements of the polycrystalline samples of R2PdSi3 (R = Ce, Nd, Tb-Er). In Ce2 PdSi3 the Ce moments order below 2.5 K. The Nd magnetic moments in Nd2 PdSi3 exhibit ferromagnetic ordering below 17 K. In Tb2 PdSi3 , a complex situation is observed: in the temperature range from 1.5 K to (tN = 25 K), there is a coexistence of a ferromagnetic spiral (about 75% of the magnetic moment) and a spin-glass (about 25%). For the Dy, Ho, and Er compounds, below TN (7.5, 8, and 7 K respectively), sinusoidally modulated structures are observed. The valence band and the core level photoemissions of 4d of rare-earth metal, 3d Pd, 2s and 2p Si were investigated by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy measurements.

Structure variations within RSi2 and R 2 TSi3 silicides. Part I. Structure overview

“…The rare earth disilicides RSi 2 have been the subject of numerous studies in the past few decades mainly due to their exciting magnetic properties, such as magnetic ordering phenomena (Wang et al, 2019;Pan et al, 2013;Kotsanidis et al, 1990;Li et al, 1998aLi et al, , 2002aLi et al, , 2013Bazela et al, 2003;Inosov et al, 2009), especially ferromagnetic ordering (Majumdar et al, 1998(Majumdar et al, , 1999bLi et al, 1999Li et al, , 2002aLi et al, ,b, 2003Li et al, , 2013Frontzek et al, 2004), their spin-glass-like behavior (Li et al, 1998a(Li et al, , 2002b(Li et al, , 2003Kimura et al, 1999;Szytuła et al, 1999Szytuła et al, , 2000Paulose et al, 2003;Lu et al, 2013) and Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interactions (Li et al, 2002b;Inosov et al, 2009;Tang et al, 2010a,b;Lu et al, 2013), which have been studied since the early 1980s. In the middle of the 20th century, ternary compounds of composition U 2 TSi 3 (with a transition metal T substituting one in four Si atoms) were a central research subject due to the emerging use of Ucontaining compounds in the military and the energy sector.…”