Triangular magnetic structure of the Mn3Sb compound
The Mn3Sb metastable compound is formed at high pressure and temperature and it decomposes upon heating above 420 K into Mn2Sb and Mn. It has a cubic crystalline structure describing the Pm-3m (№ 221) space group with a lattice parameter of a = 0.400 nm. In the present work, according to the results of neutron diffraction investigations and taking into account magnetometry data, it is shown that Mn3Sb is an antiferromagnet, and a model of the magnetic structure with a triangular configuration of equal magnetic moments in magnitude is proposed. The magnetic moments of manganese atoms, constituting the basis of a unit magnetic cell, lie in the (111) plane and form an equilateral triangle. According to neutron diffraction data, the magnetic moments of manganese atoms were determined at different temperatures.