Abstract
We report magnetic, transport, and neutron diffraction measurements as well as a doping study of the V-phase compound Zr4Fe4Si7. This compound exhibits collinear antiferromagnetic order below TN = 98 ± 1 K with a staggered moment of 0.57(3)μB/Fe as T → 0. The magnetic order can be quenched with Co substitution to the Fe site, but even then a 1.5μB/Fe paramagnetic moment remains. The resistivity and heat capacity of Zr4Fe4Si7 are Fermi-liquid-like below 16 and 7 K, respectively, and reveal correlations on the scale of those observed in superconducting Fe pnictides and chalcogenides. Electronic structure calculations overestimate the ordered moment, suggesting the importance of dynamical effects. The existence of magnetic order, electronic correlations, and spin fluctuations make Zr4Fe4Si7 distinct from the majority of Fe-Si compounds, fostering comparison instead with the parent compounds of Fe-based superconductors.
