Diamagnetism and some peculiarities of interatomic interactions in Cu₂Sb

Results are reported for magnetic susceptibility measurements of high purity Cu 2 Sb which characterize it as a diamagnetic. The observed anomalies of magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity and linear expansion coefficient in the neighbourhood of 370 K verify the existence of a phase transition of nonmagnetic origin in this temperature range. The analysis of the peculiarities of interatomic interaction in Cu 2 Sb indicates the covalent character of the bonding. The value of the strength of the CuCu and CuSb bond is evaluated. It is shown that the CuCu bond in the Cu 2 Sb compound is the most strong one.