# Compositional Tuning of Magnetic Properties in a Series of Transition Metal Site-Deficient UCo x Bi2 and UNi x Bi2 Phases

## TL;DR

Researchers synthesized new compounds to study how missing transition metals affect magnetic properties in topological materials.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel approach using metal site deficiency in HfCuSi2-type structures to tune magnetic properties.

## Key findings

- Synthesis of UCo x Bi2 and UNi x Bi2 compounds shows transition metal content affects magnetism.
- DFT calculations model formation and predict stability of transition metal-site deficient compounds.

## Abstract

Varying the electronic
structure of topological materials
through
aliovalent substitution is a primary approach to tuning their physical
properties. Unlike substitution, metal site deficiency intrinsic to
some structure types, including HfCuSi2-type, has rarely
been employed for controlling the properties of topological phases.
In this report, we describe the synthesis and characterization of
two new series of compounds, UCo
x
Bi2 and UNi
x
Bi2, which
demonstrate the variation of transition metal content through synthetic
conditions. Magnetic measurements reveal the dependence between the
extent of transition metal incorporation and the magnetism of the
resulting phase. DFT calculations demonstrated the ability to model
their formation and predict the stability ranges of transition metal-site
deficient compounds.