Crystal structure, magnetic and electric properties of ternary neodymium stannides

New ternary Nd12Co6Sn and Nd6Co 2Sn compounds were found in the Nd-rich part of the investigated Nd-Co-Sn system. The Nd12Co6Sn intermetallic compound crystallizes with the Sm12Ni6In structure type (space group Im3, a=0.9861(2) nm). The crystal structure of the Nd6Co 2Sn stannide belongs to the Ho6Co2Ga structure type (space group Immm, a=0.9268(7) nm, b=0.9285(7) nm, c=0.9839(9) nm). A thermally induced transition was observed in the Nd12Co 6Sn compound at 957 K. A nearly linear temperature dependence of the resistivity was observed and the thermopower in the 78-380 K range was measured for both compounds. The negative thermopowers increased in absolute value with increasing temperature. Curie-Weiss type behavior of the paramagnetic susceptibilities in the 80-450 K temperature range was observed and effective magnetic moments of 3.81 μB and 3.42 μB per Nd atom were calculated in the Nd12Co6Sn and Nd6Co 2Sn, respectively. The Curie-Weiss intercepts were found to be 18 and 31 K for these two compounds, respectively. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.