Topotactic Growth of Zintl Phase Eu<sub>5</sub>In<sub>2</sub>As<sub>6</sub> Nanowires with Antiferromagnetic Behavior.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40065584.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c00008 and PMC identifier 12063170.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
We demonstrate a topotactic transformation of zincblende InAs(Sb) nanowires into the Zintl phase Eu<sub>5</sub>In<sub>2</sub>As<sub>6</sub> through a vapor-solid mutual exchange process involving Eu and In in molecular beam epitaxy. This conversion preserves the polyhedral coordination lattice of the parent InAs(Sb) structure while inducing orthorhombic symmetry in the product phase, Eu<sub>5</sub>In<sub>2</sub>As<sub>6</sub>, of which quasi-one-dimensional [InAs<sub>3</sub>]<sup>6-</sup> chains with tetrahedral sites align along the ⟨110⟩ direction of zincblende structure. Local and global magnetic characterization identified two distinct antiferromagnetic phase transitions at approximately 7 and 16 K in Eu<sub>5</sub>In<sub>2</sub>As<sub>6</sub> nanowires, potentially classified as altermagnetic phases. The versatility of the topotactic conversion of III-V semiconductor nanowires provides a platform for designing functional Zintl materials with tunable magnetic properties, making them promising candidates for spintronic applications.