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Zintl-phase materials have attracted significant research interest owing to the interplay of magnetism and strong spin--orbit coupling, providing a prominent material platform for axion electrodynamics. Here, we report the single-crystal growth, structure, magnetic and electrical/thermal transport properties of the antiferromagnet layer Zintl-phase compound β-EuIn2As2. Importantly, the new layered structure of β-EuIn2As2, in rhombohedral (R3m) symmetry, contains triangular layers of Eu2+ ions. The in-plane resistivity r(H, T) measurements reveal metal behavior with an antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition (TN ~ 23.5 K), which is consistent with the heat capacity Cp(H, T) and magnetic susceptibility Χ(H, T) measurements. Negative MR was observed in the temperature range from 2 K to 20 K with a maximum MR ratio of 0.06. Unique 4f7 J = S = 7/2 Eu2+ spins were supposed magnetically order along the c-axis. The Seebeck coefficient shows a maximum thermopower |Smax| of about 40 µV K-1. The kink around 23 K in the Seebeck coefficient originates from the effect of the antiferromagnetic phase on the electron band structure, while the pronounced thermal conductivity peak at around 10 K is attributed to the phonon--phonon Umklapp scattering. The results suggest that the Eu2+ spin arrangement plays an important role in the magnetic, electrical, and thermal transport properties in β-EuIn2As2, which might be helpful for future potential technical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zintl-phase materials have attracted significant research interest owing to the interplay of magnetism and strong spin-orbit coupling, providing a prominent material platform for axion electrodynamics. Here, we report the single-crystal growth, structure, magnetic and electrical/thermal transport properties of the antiferromagnet layer Zintl-phase compound β-EuIn 2 As 2 . Importantly, the new layered structure of β-EuIn 2 As 2 , in rhombohedral ( R 3̄ m ) symmetry, contains triangular layers of Eu 2+ ions. The in-plane resistivity ρ ( H , T ) measurements reveal metal behavior with an antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition ( T N ∼ 23.5 K), which is consistent with the heat capacity C p ( H , T ) and magnetic susceptibility χ ( H , T ) measurements. Negative MR was observed in the temperature range from 2 K to 20 K with a maximum MR ratio of 0.06. Unique 4f 7 J = S = 7/2 Eu 2+ spins were supposed magnetically order along the c -axis. The Seebeck coefficient shows a maximum thermopower | S max | of about 40 μV K -1 . The kink around 23 K in the Seebeck coefficient originates from the effect of the antiferromagnetic phase on the electron band structure, while the pronounced thermal conductivity peak at around 10 K is attributed to the phonon-phonon Umklapp scattering. The results suggest that the Eu 2+ spin arrangement plays an important role in the magnetic, electrical, and thermal transport properties in β-EuIn 2 As 2 , which might be helpful for future potential technical applications.