Complexity-driven properties of the intermetallic compounds Gd117Co56Sn112 and Ln30Ru4Sn31 (Ln = Gd and Tb)

Understanding the relationships between the structure of materials and their properties in extended solid systems is a necessity when intuitively designing functional materials. One of the most fundamental properties of a material is its ability to transport heat, which is linked to the lattice complexity of the material. Here, the single crystalline materials Gd117Co56Sn112 and Tb30Ru4Sn31 are grown to study the pronounced effect of a complexity-driven reduction of lattice thermal conductivity. The transport and magnetic properties of Gd117Co56Sn112 and Ln30Ru4Sn31 (Ln = Gd and Tb) are also presented and related to other systems. Tb30Ru4Sn31 is found to be a large magnitude and highly anisotropic spin-glass system with an estimated glassy component comparable to spin-ice systems. It is found that temperature-specific memory effects of the large glassy component can be stored through magnetic field pulses and recovered with very low volatility, creating a potential new application for spin-glasses as functional materials.