Synthesis and Physical Properties of the Misfit Layered Compound (EuS)(NbSe).

A new misfit layered compound with the stoichiometry (EuS)(NbSe) (δ ≈ 0.13) has been successfully synthesized. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction confirm the misfit structure with (EuS)-(EuS) spacing of 18.30(1) Å. Magnetization, electrical resistivity, heat capacity, and thermal transport measurements show that the material is a heavily doped semiconductor or poor metal with a low thermal conductivity of ∼1 W/m K and an antiferromagnetic ordering transition at = 4.7 K. In contrast to the parent materials, the misfit is neither ferromagnetic nor superconducting down to = 0.4 K. We find evidence of a field-driven transition to a ferromagnetic state due to reorientation of ferromagnetic EuS layers at μ = 0.5 T at = 2 K.