New Fe-based layered telluride Fe3−δAs1−yTe2: synthesis, crystal structure and physical propertiesElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6dt02721k

• Main Authors: Verchenko, Valeriy Yu, Sokolov, Sergei S, Tsirlin, Alexander A, Sobolev, Alexey V, Presniakov, Igor A, Bykov, Mikhail A, Kirsanova, Maria A, Shevelkov, Andrei V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1477-9226; 1477-9234
• DOI: 10.1039/c6dt02721k

A new ternary telluride, Fe 3− δ As 1− y Te 2 , was synthesized from elements at 600 °C. It crystallizes in the hexagonal P 6 3 / mmc space group with the unit cell parameters a = 3.85091(9) Å and c = 17.1367(4) Å for δ = 0.3 and y = 0.04. Its layered crystal structure contains partially occupied intralayer and interlayer Fe positions, which give rise to significant nonstoichiometry: Fe 3− δ As 1− y Te 2 was found to possess the homogeneity range of 0.25 < δ < 0.45 and y = 0.04. Regions of local vacancy ordering alternate with regions of randomly distributed vacancies, so that the ordering of Fe atoms and vacancies is not complete in the average structure. Clear evidence of the magnetic phase transition is obtained by thermodynamic measurements, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and neutron powder diffraction. Magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal weak ferromagnetism below T C = 123 K with a net moment of M S ∼ 0.1 μ B /Fe at T = 2 K. This transition is confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry. Additionally, neutron powder diffraction indicates the onset of a complex AFM-like magnetic ordering below 100 K. The synthesized telluride, Fe 3− δ As 1− y Te 2 , possesses a layered crystal structure and show complex AFM-like magnetic behavior at low temperatures.