Crystal structure and magnetism of UOsAl

Crystal structure, magnetization, and specific heat were studied on single crystal of uranium intermetallic compound UOsAl. It is a hexagonal Laves phase of MgZn2 type, space group P63/mmc, with lattice parameters a=536.4 pm, c=845.3 pm. Shortest inter-uranium distance 313 pm (along the c-axis) is considerably smaller than the Hill limit (340 pm). The compound is a weakly temperature-dependent paramagnet with magnetic susceptibility of ≈1.5*10−8 m3 mol−1 (at T=2 K), which is slightly higher with magnetic field along the a-axis compared to the c-axis. The Sommerfeld coefficient of electronic specific heat has moderate value of γ=36 mJ mol−1 K−2.