![Sample our Engineering & Technology journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5933/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Engineering-Tech.jpg"})
Abstract
Boron and uranium form three metallic borides having the chemical formulae UB2, UB4 and UB12. In this study, we present the temperature variations of magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, electrical resistivity (performed in magnetic fields of 0 and up to 9 T), thermoelectric power and thermal conductivity measured on the bulk sample of UB12. This dodecaboride behaves as a typical metal, being a Pauli paramagnet and exhibiting a large variety of physical properties due to its specific close-packed structure containing B12 groups. We describe also an uncommon phenomenon observed in UB12, that is, a fairly large scattering of the experimental resistivity data under application of a magnetic field at low temperatures and its systematic vanishing during heating of the sample. This effect is probably caused by inharmonious movement (rattling) of the uranium atoms inside the oversized coordination cage, B24, reflected by applying the magnetic field. The specific heat, resistivity, thermoelectric power and heat transport data have been analysed in the framework of the low-frequency Einstein modes, which are mainly responsible for the phonon spectra behaviour in the system studied here.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to A. Solovjov for conducting additional (checking) electrical resistivity measurements in high magnetic fields on our sample of UB12 performed in the Intern. High Field Laboratory of Wrocław. We are also express our thanks to H. Misiorek for carrying out the thermal conductivity measurements and to M. Samsel-Czekała for useful discussion and reading the manuscript.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.