Enhanced Néel Temperature and Unusual Thermal Expansion in Flux-Grown FeCrAs Crystals

We report results from our experimental investigation of the distorted kagome compound FeCrAs. We used tin metal as a flux to produce needlelike crystals, which we characterized using single-crystal X-ray diffraction as well as measurements of magnetization, electrical transport, and heat capacity. The physical behaviors differ in two notable ways from those of previously studied crystals grown from a stoichiometric melt. First, the Néel temperature is found to be 150 K, about 25 K higher than in previous reports. Second, the Sommerfeld coefficient, a measure of the electronic heat capacity, is found to be significantly smaller than the previously reported value. These differences indicate stronger magnetic interactions and fewer charge carriers in the flux-grown crystals, which may be related to differences in stoichiometry or disorder. In addition, we find unusual thermal expansion behavior, with an anomaly at the Néel temperature and nearly temperature-independent thermal expansion along the hexagonal <i>c</i>-axis above this transition. This suggests significant spin-lattice coupling, which may provide insight into nonmetallic transport properties that have been associated with anomalous charge carrier scattering. The flux growth presented here may provide a useful approach for tuning crystal chemistry to explore magnetism, transport, and spin-lattice coupling in this interesting material.