Physical and chemical properties of the rare earth antimonides Ln5Sb3

Abstract The thermal expansion behaviour of rare earth antimonides of the Ln 5 Sb 3 type (Ln ≡ Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy or Ho) was studied in the temperature range 300–1100 K. The thermal expansion coefficients and the characteristic Debye temperatures were determined. It was shown by differential thermal analysis that all these compounds melt incongruently. The magnetic properties (magnetic susceptibility, magnetization and magnetostriction) were investigated in the temperature range 4.2–1000 K and in magnetic fields up to 200 kOe. All the antimonides studied except Sm 5 Sb 3 give rise to magnetic ordering at low temperatures, probably with complex magnetic structures.