Novel ternary compound Ce4Pt9Al13: Crystal structure, physical properties

The crystal structure of the novel Al-rich intermetallic phase Ce4Pt9Al13 was determined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data and confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction. The compound crystallizes with its own structure type, which is a “site exchange” variant of the Ho4Ir13Ge9-type (Pearson symbol oP52, space group Pmmn, No. 59, Z = 2, lattice parameters: a = 4.1826(1) Å, b = 11.4424(3) Å, c = 19.8475(5) Å, V = 949.88(7) Å3). The magnetic properties of Ce4Pt9Al13 were determined in the temperature range 1.72-400 K. Down to the lowest temperatures studied, the compound shows a Curie-Weiss paramagnetic behavior with strong crystalline electric field contribution observed below about 200 K. The electrical conductivity in Ce4Pt9Al13 has metallic character, and at low temperatures it is governed by an interplay of strong crystal field and Kondo interactions.