title: New Kagome metal Sc₃Mn₃Al₇Si₅ and its gallium-doped analogues: synthesis, crystal structure, and physical properties.
abstract: We report the synthesis, crystal structure, and basic properties of the new intermetallic compound Sc3Mn3Al7Si5. The structure of the compound was established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and it crystallizes with a hexagonal structure (Sc3Ni11Si4 type) with Mn atoms forming the Kagome nets. The dc magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal a Curie-Weiss moment of ~0.51 μ(B)/Mn; however, no magnetic order is found for temperatures as low as 1.8 K. Electrical resistivity and heat capacity measurements show that this compound is definitively metallic, with a relatively large specific heat Sommerfeld coefficient, indicating strong electronic correlations. Intriguingly, these features have revealed Sc3Mn3Al7Si5 as a possible quantum spin liquid. With chemical and lattice disorder introduced by doping, a spin liquid to spin glass transition is observed in the highest Ga-doped compounds. The roles of the geometrically frustrated structure and Mn-ligand hybridization in the magnetism of the title compounds are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University , Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Miiller
authors.forename: Meigan C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Aronson