Affiliation: | aDepartment of Chemistry, Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, House 1, Building 3, GSP-2, Moscow 119992, Russia bInstitute Laue-Langevin, 6 Rue J. Horowitz, 38042 Grenoble, France cPhysics Department, Moscow State University, GSP-2, 119899 Moscow, Russia dIndian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India eDipartimento di Chimica, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 31, 16146 Genova, Italy |
Abstract: | A neutron diffraction investigation has been carried out on the trigonal La2O3-type (hP5, space group , No. 164; also CaAl2Si2-type) YbMn2Sb2 intermetallic. A two-step synthesis route has been tried in this work, and successfully utilised to prepare single phase samples of this compound. This study shows that YbMn2Sb2 presents antiferromagnetic ordering below 120 K. The magnetic structure of this intermetallic consists of antiferromagnetically coupled magnetic moments of the manganese atoms, in the Mn1 (1/3, 2/3, ZMn) and Mn2 (2/3, 1/3, 1 ? ZMn) sites; the direction of magnetic moments of manganese atoms forming a φ and a θ angle, respectively with the X- and the Z-axis. At 4 K the magnetic moment of the Mn1 atom is μMn = 3.6(1) μB, with φ = 0° and θ = 62(4)°, whilst the Mn2 atom has a magnetic moment μMn = 3.6(1) μB, with φ = 0° and θ = 242(4)°. On the other hand, in this compound no local moment was detected on the Yb site. |