Crystallographic Stability and No Evidence of Higher-Order Saddle Points in the HfFe6Ge6-type Kagome Metal ScCo6Ge6

Abstract

While kagome RT6X6 (R = Li, Mg, Zr, and rare-earth metals; T = 3d transition metals; X = Ge/Sn) compounds are widely studied, Co-based RCo6X6 phases remain largely limited to structural reports, with few systematic studies of their physical properties. Here we report Sn-flux-grown single-crystalline ScCo6Ge6 and its structural and physical characterization. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction confirms that ScCo6Ge6 adopts the HfFe6Ge6-type structure rather than the vacancy-driven Y0.5Co3Ge3-type variant. Across the RCo6Ge6 series, structural preference correlates with the Shannon ionic radius of R (8-fold coordination), placing ScCo6Ge6 within the stability range of the HfFe6Ge6-type framework. Magnetization exhibits weak temperature dependence consistent with Pauli-like paramagnetism. The resistivity is well described by a Bloch-Gruneisen form with a Debye temperature exceeding 230 K, consistent with phonon-dominated scattering. Electrical transport also shows a conventional linear Hall response and negligible magnetoresistance, indicative of simple metallic behavior. Electronic structure calculations identify a Ge-derived quadratic saddle point similar to 0.35 eV below E F, with no evidence of higher-order saddle points near the Fermi level. These results highlight that crystallographic stability and physical properties in RCo6Ge6 are governed not only by the Co kagome lattice but also sensitively by the Ge sublattice.