UC Irvine

Intense efforts have been made in order to synthesize new tetragonal ternary intermetallic compounds with low-temperature ground states on the border of magnetism. Here we report the synthesis of ThCo2Sn2 single crystals, which crystallize in the tetragonal CaBe2Ge2-type structure, using the flux technique. Further investigation of the physical properties by magnetic susceptibility and pressure-dependent electrical resistivity measurements confirm the presence of antiferromagnetic ordering associated with the Co ions, but with a higher ordering temperature of TN 78 K when compared to TN 65 K of the polycrystalline counterpart. Our results show that both Cu-substitution and applied pressure up to 22 kbar are not able to induce superconductivity in this system. Nevertheless, our analyses point out to a putative quantum critical point at higher pressures.