Dramatic Suppression of Antiferromagnetic Ordering in CeIn 3 Nanowires

Abstract

In this work, we have employed the Metallic-Flux Nanonucleation method to synthesize CeIn 3 nanowires (diameter ≈ 175 nm) and single crystals for comparison. The physical properties of the nanowires were systematically investigated using Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED), magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). Semi-quantitative EDS analysis revealed a Ce:In ratio of 1:3.1(1), and the SAED results confirmed that the nanowires are polycrystalline with a cubic unit cell. Magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and NMR data indicated a suppression of the antiferromagnetic transition to T N ≈ 2.4 K compared to the bulk value (≈ 10 K). Furthermore, NMR analysis at temperatures below 2.8 K showed a reduced quadrupole frequency, ν Q ≈ 1.77(2) MHz, and provided evidence of polycrystalline nanowires formed within the nanoporous alumina template, in agreement with SAED results. We attribute these findings to an increase in magnetic frustration, induced by disorder and the confinement of CeIn 3 within the nanometric pores of the alumina template.