We conducted a joint experimental-theoretical investigation of the high-pressure chemistry of europium polyhydrides at pressures of 86-130 GPa. We discovered several novel magnetic Eu superhydrides stabilized by anharmonic effects: cubic $EuH_{ 9}$, hexagonal $EuH_{ 9}$, and an unexpected cubic (Pm-3n) clathrate phase, $Eu_{ 8}H_{ 46}$. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that cubic $EuH_{ 9}$ has antiferromagnetic ordering with T(Neel) up to 24 K, whereas hexagonal $EuH_{ 9}$ and Pm-3n-$Eu_{ 8}H_{ 46}$ possess ferromagnetic ordering with T(Curie) = 137 and 336 K, respectively. The electron-phonon interaction is weak in all studied europium hydrides, and their magnetic ordering excludes s-wave superconductivity, except, perhaps, for distorted pseudohexagonal $EuH_{ 9}$. The equations of state predicted within the DFT+U approach (the Hubbard corrections were found within linear response theory) are in close agreement with the experimental data. This work shows the great influence of the atomic radius on symmetry-breaking distortions of the crystal structures of superhydrides and on their thermodynamic stability.
Categories: cond-mat.str-el cond-mat.mtrl-sci