Unique [MnBi] Nanowires in KMnBi: A Quasi-One-Dimensional Antiferromagnetic Metal.

We report a new quasi-one-dimensional compound KMnBi composed of parallel nanowires crystallizing in a monoclinic space group C2/ m with a = 22.994(2) Å, b = 4.6128(3) Å, c = 13.3830(13) Å and β = 124.578(6)°. The nanowires are infinite [MnBi] columns each of which is composed of a nanotube of Bi atoms acting as the cladding with a nanorod of Mn atoms located in the central axis of the nanotubes. The nanorods of Mn atoms inside the Bi cladding are stabilized by Mn-Mn bonding and are defined by distorted Mn-centered cluster icosahedra of Mn sharing their vertices along the b axis. The [MnBi] nanowires are linked with weak internanowire Bi-Bi bonds and charge balanced with K ions. The [MnBi] nanowires were directly imaged by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy. Magnetic susceptibility studies show one-dimensional characteristics with an antiferromagnetic transition at ∼75 K and a small average effective magnetic moment (1.56 μ/Mn for H ∥ b and 1.37 μ/Mn for H ⊥ b) of Mn from Curie-Weiss fits above 150 K. Specific heat measurements reveal an electronic specific heat coefficient γ of 6.5(2) mJ K(mol-Mn) and a small magnetic entropy change Δ S ≈ 1.6 J K (mol-Mn) across the antiferromagnetic transition. In contrast to a metallic resistivity along the column, the resistivity perpendicular to the column shows a change from a semiconducting behavior at high temperatures to a metallic one at low temperatures, indicating an incoherent-to-coherent crossover of the intercolumn tunneling of electrons.