Interplay of short-range bond order and A-type antiferromagnetic order in metallic triangular lattice GdZn$_3$P$_3$

We investigate a hexagonal ScAl$_3$C$_3$-type antiferromagnet GdZn$_3$P$_3$ single crystal. Compared with antiferromagnetic topological material EuM$_2$X$_2$ (M=Zn, Cd; X=P, As), the GdZn$_3$P$_3$ features an additional ZnP$_3$ trigonal planar units. Notably, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that Zn and P atoms within trigonal planar layer exhibit significant anisotropic displacement parameters with a space group of P63/mmc. Meanwhile, scanning transmission electron microscopy experiment demonstrates the presence of interstitial P atoms above and below the ZnP honeycomb lattice, suggesting potential ZnP bond instability within the ZnP$_3$ trigonal layers. Concerning the triangular Gd$^{3+}$ layer, the magnetic susceptibility $χ$$(T)$ and heat capacity measurements reveal long-range antiferromagnetic order at T$_N$ = 4.5 K. Below T$_N$, the in-plane $χ$$(T)$ is nearly 4 times the $χ$$(T)$ along $c$ axis, indicative of strong magnetic anisotropy. The Curie Weiss fitting to the low temperature $χ$$(T)$ data reveals ferromagnetic interaction ($θ$$_{CW}$ = 5.2 K) in ab-plane, and antiferromagnetic interaction ($θ$$_{CW}$ = -1 K) along c axis, suggesting the ground state as an A-type antiferromagnetic order. Correspondingly, the density function theory calculation shows that GdZn$_3$P$_3$ is an indirect semiconductor with a band gap 0.27 eV, supported by the resistivity measurement on polycrystal sample. Interestingly, the GdZn$_3$P$_3$ single crystal exhibits metallic conductivity with an anomaly at T$_N$, likely associated with the observation of interstitial P atoms mentioned above. Therefore, our results establish GdZn$_3$P$_3$ system as a concrete example for investigating the coupling between charge carrier and triangular lattice magnetism in the two-dimensional lattice framework, on the background of short-range bond order.