Electrical and magnetic properties of NdCuPb compound

Electrical and magnetic properties of NdCuPb compound were investigated by means of electrical resistivity, magnetization measurements in the temperature range 1.5–100 K. Low-field dc susceptibility goes through a maximum at TN=13.2TN=13.2  K, indicating a paramagnetic to an antiferromagnetic transition and then follows a sharp peak at T=5.9T=5.9  K. The susceptibility data exhibits a Curie–Weiss like behavior in the paramagnetic regime and the effective moment per neodium atom is found to be 3.62μBμB from the data at temperatures above 42 K. This value is exactly equal to that for Nd3+, while at lower temperatures, the data yields a little bit less than its free ion value. The ratio M/HM/H versus temperature T   curves for different values of the magnetic field split into multiple branches at about T=42T=42  K due to crystalline field effects.In addition, electrical resistivity in a magnetic field up to 120 kOe was also measured in the same temperature range. The resistivity gives non-metallic behavior. The antiferromagnetic transition is clearly discern by a “Cr-like” anomaly at about 13 K, followed by a sharp increase in the resistivity (like a jump) at T=5.9T=5.9  K where the susceptibility gives similar effect. On other hand, the magnetic contribution to the resistivity begins to decrease at T=42T=42  K at which M/HM/H curves merges. All these behavior may be attributed to crystal-field-splitting of neodium atoms’levels.