Synthesis, crystal structure and physical properties of EuTGe3 (T = Co, Ni, Rh, Pd, Ir, Pt) single crystals

Single crystals of six EuTGe3 compounds with T = Co, Ni, Rh, Pd, Ir and Pt were prepared by high-temperature solution growth method. Their crystal structures of the BaNiSn3-type were refined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The physical properties of oriented single-crystalline specimens were studied by means of magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity and electrical resistivity measurements. For each compound, an antiferromagnetic ordering was found to set in at low temperatures due to localized magnetic moments carried on divalent Eu ions. Despite the same crystal structure, the EuTGe3 compounds exhibit diverse magnetic structures with different directions of the ordered magnetic moments and a variety of dissimilar mutual arrangements of adjacent spins. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.