Citation: Zhupanov, V.O.; Khalaniya, R.A.; Bogach, A.V.; Verchenko, V.Y.; Likhanov, M.S.; Shevelkov, A.V. Ambient Pressure Synthesis of Re-Substituted MnGe and Its Magnetic Properties. Crystals 2022, 12, 1256. https://doi.org/10.3390/ cryst12091256 Academic Editors: Patrice Berthod, Grzegorz Gola ´ nski and Marek Sroka Received: 21 August 2022 Accepted: 2 September 2022 Published: 5 September 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). crystals Article Ambient Pressure Synthesis of Re-Substituted MnGe and Its Magnetic Properties Vladislav O. Zhupanov 1 , Roman A. Khalaniya 1 , Alexey V. Bogach 2 , Valeriy Yu. Verchenko 1,3 , Maxim S. Likhanov 1 and Andrei V. Shevelkov 1, * 1 Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia 2 Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia 3 National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, 12618 Tallinn, Estonia * Correspondence: shev@inorg.chem.msu.ru Abstract: Due to their non-centrosymmetric structure, B20-type compounds have intriguing prop- erties of chiral magnets and are the objects of study of topological spin textures. Among them is a high-pressure phase MnGe, which demonstrates properties of magnetic skyrmions. We report on the synthesis of an Mn 1-x Re x Ge solid solution with the B20 structure, which can be prepared without the application of high pressure. Mn 1-x Re x Ge (x = 0.169(6)) shows unconventional magnetic behavior, where the Neel temperature is only slightly reduced compared to a chiral-lattice helimagnet MnGe. Keywords: B20-type structure; manganese monogermanide; magnetic properties; rhenium 1. Introduction Compounds of the cubic FeSi structure type, also known as B20-type, have attracted great attention in recent years [1,2]. The interest in this family of compounds is caused by a special yet simple crystal structure (Figure 1), which leads to intriguing magnetic properties. The cubic unit cell belongs to the P2 1 3 space group, which does not have an inversion center, rendering the existence of two enantiomeric structures possible. As shown in Figure 1b, iron atoms that do not lie on the [111] axis form spirals that can twist clockwise or counterclockwise, whereas silicon atoms form similar spirals with an inverted rotation. Single crystals of B20-type compounds have enantiomorphic purity, while both forms are present in powdered samples. This group includes monosilicides and monogermanides of various transition metals including chromium, manganese, iron, and cobalt, as well as silicides RuSi, OsSi, RhSi, ReSi, and some other compounds, for example PdE and PtE (E = Al, Ga). Of particular interest are the 3d transition metal derivatives capable of exhibiting magnetism in the non-centrosymmetric B20 structure that leads to the appearance of a nontrivial magnetic order–helical magnetic structure, due to the Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction. Figure 1. Crystal structure of the B20-type FeSi: the unit cell (a) and view of two enantiomers along the [111] axis (b). Crystals 2022, 12, 1256. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst12091256 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/crystals