Low temperature coefficient of resistivity induced by magnetic transition and lattice contraction in Mn3NiN compound

We report the low temperature coefficient of resistivity (TCR) of antiperovskite Mn3NiN compound for the first time. Interestingly, the resistivity remained almost constant with temperature from 250 K. The dρ/dT value and the TCR were determined to be about 7.17 × 10−8 Ω cm K−1 and 12.3 × 10−5 K−1, respectively. It was found that the low TCR behavior was related to the magnetic transition and large lattice contraction. The origin of low TCR behavior was further analyzed based on the Labbé–Jardin tight-binding approximation model.