Heavy-atom antiferromagnet gdbite: an interplay of magnetism and topology in a symmetry-protected topological semimetal

Magnetic topological semimetals (MTSs) are quantum materials highly desirable for spintronics. We report the synthesis, the crystal structure, the chemical bonding analysis, the magneto(transport) properties, and the bulk and surface electronic structures of GdBiTe. It is a high-Z isostructural analogue of the archetypical nodal-line TS ZrSiS and a recently discovered MTS LnSbTe (Ln = Ce, Gd). GdBiTe crystallizes in the nonsymmorphic space group P4/nmm (No. 129) with a = 4.3706(2) Å and c = 9.2475(7) Å. Chemical bonding analysis describes it as a layered structure of alternating weakly bonded double-stacked covalent [GdTe] layers and planar square [Bi] nets. GdBiTe exhibits an antiferromagnetic transition at TN = 15 K, and an additional transition, possibly a spin reorientation into a canted antiferromagnetic state, occurs below ca. 5 K. The electrical resistivity is compatible with a semimetallic behavior above TN.