Structural and magnetic properties of a novel ternary intermetallic compound CePd3Sn2

We synthesized a new ternary stannide CePd3Sn2 and determined its crystal structure from single crystal x-ray diffraction. This compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic structure with space group Pnma (No.62). One-dimensional chains of the shortest Ce-Ce contacts at 0.47663(1) nm run along the b axis. Both specific heat C and susceptibility χ of polycrystalline samples show a pronounced peak at TN = 0.6 K indicating an antiferromagnetic order. An obvious tail in C(T) appears in the temperature range from TN up to 3 K where the magnetic entropy Sm reaches Rln2. Meanwhile, the electrical resistivity ρ exhibits an upward curvature without showing any sign of Kondo scattering. The unusual behaviors of C(T) and ρ(T) above TN are attributed to antiferromagnetic short-range correlations in the Ce-Ce chain.