Solution growth of Ce-Pd-In single crystals: Characterization of the heavy-fermion superconductor Ce2PdIn8

Magnetic measurements of the Ce2PdIn8 single crystals reveal paramagnetic behaviour of the Ce3+ ions with significant magnetocrystalline anisotropy. Above 70 K the magnetic susceptibility follows the Curie-Weiss law with considerably different values of the paramagnetic Curie temperature, for the magnetic field applied along the a- (−90 K) and c-(−50 K) axis. Below the reported critical temperature for superconductivity Tc (0.69 K) the electrical resistivity drops to zero. Comparative measurements of the electrical resistivity, heat capacity and AC susceptibility of several crystals reveal that the superconducting transition is strongly sample dependent.