Unconventional transport behavior in the Quaternary Heusler compounds CoFeTiSn and CoFeVGa

TL;DR

This study investigates the electrical and magnetic properties of two newly synthesized quaternary Heusler compounds, revealing a transition from semiconducting to metallic behavior in CoFeTiSn and complex transport phenomena in CoFeVGa.

Contribution

It reports the synthesis and characterization of CoFeTiSn and CoFeVGa, highlighting their unconventional transport behavior and magnetic transitions, which are novel among Heusler compounds.

Findings

CoFeTiSn transitions from semiconducting to metallic at ferromagnetic transition

CoFeVGa exhibits semiconducting behavior with a metallic window below 90 K

Seebeck coefficient is negative and comparable to thermoelectric Heusler alloys

Abstract

We report here the electrical transport and magnetic properties of the newly synthesized quaternary Heusler compound CoFeTiSn and CoFeVGa. We observe a striking change in the electronic transport properties of CoFeTiSn as the system undergoes the paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transition. While the sample shows an activated semiconducting behaviour in the paramagnetic phase, it turns abruptly to a metallic phase with the onset of ferromagnetic transition. We have compared the system with other Hesuler compounds showing similar anomaly in transport, and it appears that CoFeTiSn has much similarities with the Fe$_2$VAl compound having pseudogap in the paramagnetic phase. In sharp contrast, CoFeVGa shows a predominantly semiconducting behaviour down to 90 K, below which it shows a window of metallic region. Both the compositions show negative Seebeck coefficient varying linearly with temperature. The value of the Seebeck coefficient of CoFeTiSn is comparable to that of many Heusler alloys identified as potential thermoelectric materials.