A Novel Intermetallic Compound, CeCu1−xBi2

Electronic stabilization by occupational disorder in the ternary bismuthide Li3-x-yInxBi (x ≃ 0.14, y ≃ 0.29)

A ternary derivative of Li₃Bi with the composition Li_3-x-yIn_xBi (x ≃ 0.14, y ≃ 0.29) was produced by a mixed In+Bi flux approach. The crystal structure adopts the space group Fd-3m (No. 227), with a = 13.337 (4) Å, and can be viewed as a 2 × 2 × 2 superstructure of the parent Li₃Bi phase, resulting from a partial ordering of Li and In in the tetrahedral voids of the Bi fcc packing. In addition to the Li/In substitutional disorder, partial occupation of some Li sites is observed. The Li deficiency develops to reduce the total electron count in the system, counteracting thereby the electron doping introduced by the In substitution. First-principles calculations confirm the electronic rationale of the observed disorder.

High-pressure studies on heavy-fermion antiferromagnet CeCuBi2

We report in-plane electrical resistivity studies of CeCuBi₂ and LaCuBi₂ single crystals under applied pressure. At ambient pressure, CeCuBi₂ is a c-axis Ising antiferromagnet with a transition temperature [Formula: see text] K. In a magnetic field applied along the c-axis at [Formula: see text] K a spin-flop transition takes place [Formula: see text] T. Applying pressure on CeCuBi₂ suppresses T _N at a slow rate. [Formula: see text] extrapolates to zero temperature at [Formula: see text] GPa. The critical field of the spin-flop transition [Formula: see text] displays a maximum of 6.8 T at [Formula: see text] GPa. At low temperatures, a zero-resistance superconducting state emerges upon the application of external pressure having a maximum T _c of 7 K at 2.6 GPa in CeCuBi₂. High-pressure electrical-resistivity experiments on the non-magnetic reference compound LaCuBi₂ reveal also a zero resistance state with similar critical temperatures in the same pressure range as CeCuBi₂. The great similarity between the superconducting properties of both materials and elemental Bi suggests a common origin of the superconductivity. We discuss that the appearance of this zero resistance state superconductivity may be related to the Bi layers present in the crystalline structure of both compounds and, therefore, could be intrinsic to CeCuBi₂ and LaCuBi₂, however further experiments under pressure are necessary to clarify this issue.

Lanthanum gallium bismuthide, LaGaBi2

The ternary rare-earth gallium bismuthide LaGaBi(2) has been prepared through reaction of the elements. Its structure (Pearson symbol hP24, hexagonal, space group P6/mmm, Z = 6, a = 13.5483(4) A, c = 4.3937(1) A) contains columns of La(6) trigonal prisms centered by Bi atoms. These columns are surrounded by a framework consisting of three-atom-wide Bi ribbons and Ga(6) rings. Additional Bi atoms are sandwiched between pairs of Ga(6) rings. LaGaBi(2) is structurally closely related to La(13)Ga(8)Sb(21). A retrotheoretical analysis of the structure through extended Hückel band structure calculations suggests an interesting electronic situation in which strong multiple bonding in the Ga-Ga network coexists with weak hypervalent bonding in the Bi-Bi network and confirms the metallic behavior seen in electrical resistivity measurements.