Synthesis of the Ni-doped ternary compound Ba(Fe1-xNix)2Se3

We report the synthesis of Ni-doped $BaFe_2Se_3$ single crystals by using a flux method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of $Ba(Fe_{1-x}Ni_x)_2Se_3$ shows a gradual peak shift with an increase in the nominal Ni-doping rate, x = 0, 0.05, and 0.10, due to a decrease in unit-cell volume. All samples show a spin glass transition, and temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility shows a negligible change in the spin-glass transition temperature ($T_g$) with Ni concentration x. The temperature dependence of electrical resistivity for $BaFe_2Se_3$ shows an insulating behavior, and the resistivity value at 295 K and the activation energy ($E_a$) obtained from the Arrhenius plot decrease with increasing x. These results suggest that the Ni doping can be effectively worked as a dopant for electron charge carriers, but is less efficient in controlling the magnetic property, such as spin glass transition, in the $BaFe_2Se_3$ compound.