Structure and physical properties of YbZn₂Sb₂ and YbCd₂Sb₂

Chem. Met. Alloys 1 (2008) 204-209

https://doi.org/10.30970/cma1.0062

Oksana Ya. ZELINSKA, Andriy V. TKACHUK, Andrew P. GROSVENOR, Arthur MAR

The ternary ytterbium transition-metal antimonides YbM₂Sb₂ (M = Zn, Cd) were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies to adopt the CaAl₂Si₂-type structure (P m1; a = 4.4424(6) Å, c = 7.4184(9) Å for YbZn₂Sb₂; a = 4.6512(7) Å, c = 7.5661(11) Å for YbCd₂Sb₂). Electrical resistivity measurements on single crystals revealed weakly metallic behaviour, with a resistivity minimum near 80 K in the case of YbCd₂Sb₂. The Yb atoms are predominantly divalent, as indicated by band structure calculations and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy on YbZn₂Sb₂, but nonzero magnetic moments derived from magnetic susceptibility measurements and additional features in the experimental valence band spectrum provide evidence for the presence of some trivalent Yb species.

Structure of YbM₂Sb₂ (M = Zn, Cd). The large lightly shaded circles are Yb atoms, the small solid circles are M atoms, and the medium open circles are Sb atoms.

Keywords

Antimonide / Ytterbium / Electronic structure / Magnetic properties