Structure and magnetic properties of CeGa2D0.6 system

The intermetallic compound CeGa2 is deuterided to form a composition CeGa2D0.6. From the X-ray diffraction studies, the deuteride is found to have the same structure as that of the parent compound. Magnetic properties of the deuteride have been studied by magnetization as well as heat capacity measurements. While CeGa2 is ferromagnetic with an ordering temperature of ∼10 K, the transition temperature is lowered to ∼6 K in CeGa2D0.6. The in-field magnetization of the deuteride at 1.8 K shows a predominant ferromagnetic contribution, which unlike CeGa2 does not achieve saturation in applied fields up to 55 kOe.