Structural peculiarities and magnetic properties of a novel cerium gallide CeRh2Ga2

•CeRh2Ga2 crystallizes with a partly disordered tetragonal structure similar to the CaBe2Ge2-type.•The tetragonal lattice parameters ratio c/a is smaller than 2.3, which implies a possible structural instability.•The compound is a modified Curie-Weiss paramagnet with no magnetic ordering down to 1.72 K.

A novel cerium gallide CeRh2Ga2 was investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and low-temperature magnetic measurements. The compound crystallizes with a tetragonal crystal structure closely related to the CaBe2Ge2-type with significant atomic disorder on one Rh and one Ga sites. The magnetic behavior in CeRh2Ga2 has appeared to be governed by slightly delocalized 4f electronic states of cerium ions. Down to 1.72 K, no hint at any magnetic phase transition has been found.