Low-temperature physical properties and electronic structures of Ni₃Sb, Ni₅Sb₂, NiSb₂, and NiSb

We report the results of low temperature resistivity and magnetization measurements on polycrystalline samples of four Ni–Sb compounds, Ni₃Sb, Ni₅Sb₂, NiSb, and NiSb₂. Resistivity measurements revealed that these compounds exhibit a metallic type of electrical conductivity. Temperature dependences of the resistivities were well fitted by the generalized Bloch–Grüneisen formula with an exponent of n=3, indicating that the s–d interband scattering is the dominant scattering mechanism. The magnetic susceptibilities of Ni₅Sb₂, NiSb, and NiSb₂ are almost independent of temperature (above 150 K), exhibiting Pauli paramagnetic behavior. The temperature dependences of the susceptibilities were fitted using the Curie–Weiss law. Ni₃Sb was found to have a paramagnetic–ferromagnetic phase transition at 229 K.
First-principles calculations have been performed to investigate the electronic structures and physical properties of these Ni–Sb alloys. The calculation of the band structure predicted that Ni₃Sb, Ni₅Sb₂, NiSb, and NiSb₂ have characteristics of metal, and the ground state of Ni₃Sb is ferromagnetic. The electrical and magnetic properties observed experimentally are consistent with that predicted by the first-principle electronic structure calculations.