Neutron diffraction study of magnetic ordering of two binary uranium tellurides U3Te5 and U2Te3

The binary uranium tellurides U3Te5 and U2Te3 have been studied by neutron powder diffraction as a function of temperature. in the case of U3Te5 (Pnma space group), the magnetic moments of the three uranium sites (U-1, U-2,U- U-3) are lying in the a-c plane with a FxCz -type structure, with differen t magnetic moments for U-1, U-2, U-3. A spin reorientation towards the c di rection occurs around T=45 K. Neutron diffraction data for U2Te3 (Pnma spac e group) are consistent with an antiferromagnetic G(x) A(z) -type structure . The magnetic moments of uranium atoms in two crystallographic sites (U-1, U-2) are in the a-e plane with different magnetic moments for U-1 and U-2. A slight spin reorientation on the U-2 Site occurs around T=45 K. Close to the ordering temperature, hints of a complex magnetic structure can be det ected. In both compounds, these results are correlated with the macroscopic magnetic measurements. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.