Itinerant Antiferromagnetism In Femnp0.8si0.2 Single Crystals

Compounds based on the Fe2P structure have continued to attract interest because of the interplay between itinerant and localized magnetism in a noncentrosymmetric crystal structure, and because of the recent developments of these materials for magnetocaloric applications. Here we report the growth and characterization of millimeter-sized single crystals of FeMnP0.8Si0.2 with the Fe2P structure. Single-crystal x-ray diffraction, magnetization, resistivity, and Hall and heat capacity data are reported. The crystals exhibit itinerant antiferromagnetic order below 158 K with no hint of ferromagnetic behavior in the magnetization curves and with the spins ordered primarily in the ab plane. The room-temperature resistivity is close to the Ioffe-Regel limit for a metal. Single-crystal x-ray diffraction indicates a strong preference for Mn to occupy the larger pyramidal 3g site. The cation site preference in the as-grown crystals and the antiferromagnetism are not changed after high-temperature anneals and a rapid quench to room temperature.