Giant In-Plane Shrinkage Induced by Structural Phase Transformation in TbCoSi2

Metal-based materials, pivotal for industrialization and technological progress, confront the long-standing issue of high thermal expansion, which limits their application in advanced scenarios. With a century-long research history, negative thermal expansion materials, particularly those in intermetallic compounds, offer promising solutions for regulating thermal expansion. Here, we investigate polycrystalline TbCoSi₂ ingots, revealing a notable 3% in-plane shrinkage from 223 K to 298 K induced by structural phase transitions. Temperature-dependent XRD and Rietveld refinement identify a low-temperature Pbcm space group structure, and the drastic a-axis shrinkage during the phase transition drives the in-plane contraction. Macroscopic magnetic measurements and first-principles calculations reveal an antiferromagnetic structure below 13.7 K, with magnetic and structural phase transitions being independent. These findings present a metal-based weakly magnetic material for precise thermal expansion control, particularly in the uniaxial direction.