Preparation and physical properties of antiperovskite-type compounds CdNCo3−zNiz (0≤z≤3)

A series of CdNCo3−zNiz (0≤z≤3) samples were prepared from CdO and metal powders under NH3 atmosphere at 743 K. The structural and physical properties were investigated by means of X-ray powder diffraction, temperature dependent resistivity and magnetic measurements. X-ray powder diffraction results show that CdNCo3 is a new ternary nitride with antiperovskite structure, and it can form a complete solid solution series with CdNNi3. Both CdNCo3 and CdNNi3 samples show metallic temperature dependent resistivity and exhibit a Fermi liquid behavior below 50 K. All samples are ferromagnetic, and their coercivity and remanence decrease as the Ni content increases. The temperature dependence of the magnetization of the CdNCo3−zNiz samples can be well fitted to the combination of a Bloch term and a Curie–Weiss term. The CdNCo3 sample is ferromagnet with coercivity of 240 Oe at room-temperature. In contrast to the paramagnetism previously reported, our CdNNi3 sample exhibits very soft and weak ferromagnetism.