Electrical resistivity and magnetism in some ternary intermetallics

We report on structure and transport properties of novel materials Er3Co6Sn5, Y3Co6Sn5, HfCu6Sb3, Ti5Cu0.45Sb2.55, Tm2Ni3Sn2 and Er6Ni2Sn studied in polycrystalline form in connection to their magnetic behavior. For the latter compound also the specific-heat data are presented. The first two compounds crystallize in the Dy3Co6Sn5-type structure. HfCu6Sb3 forms in a new structure type characterized by space group P6(3)mc and lattice parameters a=4.259 Angstrom and c=11.5112 Angstrom. The W5Si3 structure type has been determined for Ti5Cu0.45Sb2.55. Er6Ni2Sn possesses the orthorhombic Ho6Ni2Ga-type structure with lattice constants a=9.245 Angstrom, b=9.417 Angstrom and c=9.819 Angstrom. Specific features of the temperature dependence of resistivity will be discussed in the context of results of magnetic measurements, e.g. the p vs. T curve for Er6Ni2Sn exhibits two pronounced cusp-like anomalies at T-1 approximate to 18 K and T-N approximate to 35 K. These anomalies are connected with magnetic phase transitions confirmed by magnetization data. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.