title: Unexpected synergy between magnetic iron chains and stacked B6 rings in Nb6Fe(1-x)Ir(6+x)B8.
abstract: The synergistic combination of experiment and density functional theory has led to the discovery of the first ferromagnetic material, Nb6Fe(1-x)Ir(6+x)B8, containing in its crystal structure iron chains embedded in stacked B6 rings. The strong ferromagnetic Fe-Fe interactions found in the iron chains induce an unexpected strengthening of the B-B interactions in the B6 rings. Beside these strong B-B interactions, strong interlayer metal-boron bonds (Ir-B and Nb-B) ensure the overall structural stability of this phase, while the magnetic Fe-Fe interactions are mainly responsible for the observed ferromagnetic ordering below T(C)=350 K.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 1, 52056 Aachen (Germany) http://www.ssc.rwth-aachen.de/fokwa.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mbarki
authors.forename: Rachid
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: St Touzani
authors.forename: Boniface P T
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Fokwa
keywords: boron rings; iron; magnetic properties; solid-state chemistry; stacking interactions