Ab initio study of structural, electronic and magnetic properties of XSn3 (X = Gd, Cm) and GdxCm1-xSn3 compounds

In this paper, the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of the GdSn 3 , CmSn 3 and Gd Cm 1- Sn 3 compounds ( = 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75) were studied using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method, within the generalized gradient approximation+.The ground-state properties are determined for the bulk materials GdSn 3 , CmSn 3 and Gd Cm 1- Sn 3 crystallized in AuCu 3 -type structure.The calculated structural, electronic and magnetic properties of GdSn 3 compound are in good agreement with the existing experimental and theoretical data.It is found that the most stable magnetic configurations of both compounds CmSn 3 and GdSn 3 are anti-ferromagnetic type A (AFM-A) and have a metallic behavior.The magnetic moment found decreases with increasing the Cm composition in Gd Cm 1- Sn 3 compounds.The results show that the GdSn 3 , CmSn 3 and Gd Cm 1- Sn 3 compounds share some properties, and may well be useful for spintronic applications.