Crystal structure and magnetism of UOsAl.

Crystal structure, magnetization, and specific heat were studied on single crystal of uranium intermetallic compound UOsAl. It is a hexagonal Laves phase of MgZn 2 type, space group P 6 3 /mmc , with lattice parameters a =536.4 pm, c =845.3 pm. Shortest inter-uranium distance 313 pm (along the c- axis) is considerably smaller than the Hill limit (340 pm). The compound is a weakly temperature-dependent paramagnet with magnetic susceptibility of ≈1.5*10 −8 m 3 mol −1 (at T =2 K), which is slightly higher with magnetic field along the a- axis compared to the c- axis. The Sommerfeld coefficient of electronic specific heat has moderate value of γ =36 mJ mol −1 K −2 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]