High-pressure X-ray diffraction study of Sc1-xNbxFe2(H,D)y compound crystal structure

We propose to investigate Sc1-xNbxFe2(H,D)y exhibiting interesting itinerant-electron magnetic behavior. We’ll focus on the structural changes probed by XRD under pressure. We are particularly interested in the evolution of the crystal structure, the pressure variation of the unit cell parameters, volume and crystal symmetry. We also aim to investigate the influence of the nature of the (H, D) isotope on the crystal lattice under pressure, i.e., H/D isotopic effect by measuring ScFe2D3.14 and ScFe2H3.58 under pressure in comparison to ScFe2 reference. Ambient pressure studies have revealed that the structural and physical properties are very sensitive to chemical pressure. XRD experiments under pressure will allow us to establish a correspondence between chemical and external pressure. Sc1-xNbxFe2(H,D)y is a remarkable example of itinerant electron magnetism with a large interplay between physical properties and volume/pressure.