| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1505767 | Solid State Sciences | 2010 | 7 Pages |
The stannide EuRuSn3 was synthesized by induction melting of the elements in a sealed tantalum tube in a water-cooled quartz glass sample chamber. The structure was refined on the basis of single crystal X-ray diffractometer data (LaRuSn3 type, Pm 3¯n, a = 976.0(1) pm, wR2 = 0.0399, 317 F2 values, and 13 variables). EuRuSn3 shows modified Curie–Weiss behaviour in the temperature range 50–305 K with an experimental magnetic moment of 7.34(1) μB per formula unit. Thus, the europium atoms are not in a purely divalent state. Low field susceptibility measurement indicates a ferro- or ferrimagnetic ordering at TC = 11.2(2) K and magnetization measurements indicate EuRuSn3 as a non-collinear ferro- or ferrimagnet. 151Eu Mössbauer spectroscopic measurements suggested one europium site to be static mixed valent with a Eu2+/Eu3+ ratio close to one and the other site purely divalent. This was supported by substituting the Eu3+ atoms with Y3+ in a sample with a composition of Eu0.7Y0.3RuSn3 (a = 971.24(8) pm, wR2 = 0.0485, 313 F2 values, 14 variables). The 119Sn Mössbauer spectra show a pronounced Gol'danskii–Karyagin effect in the paramagnetic range and a magnetic hyperfine field distribution at 4.2 K, due to the complex magnetic structure. The influence of the valence electron concentration on the europium valence was tested via Ru/Pd substitution. A EuRu0.8Pd0.2Sn3 sample shows almost purely divalent europium.
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