Structure and properties of rhombohedral CePd3Ga8: A variant of the cubic parent compound with BaHg11 structure type

Abstract Single crystals of a new intermetallic gallide, R -CePd 3 Ga 8 , have been synthesized from excess molten gallium. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that R -CePd 3 Ga 8 crystallizes in the R-3m space group with a = b = c =8.4903(10) A and α = β = γ =89.993(17). R -CePd 3 Ga 8 is a variant of the cubic BaHg 11 structure type with three structural units: a Ce-centered polyhedron, a distorted cube of Pd 2 Ga 6 and a Pd-centered cuboctahedron. The distortions of these units are compared to undistorted analogous units in intermetallic compounds with BaHg 11 structure type. Field and temperature-dependent magnetization measurements on R -CePd 3 Ga 8 reveal a paramagnetic material with strong antiferromagnetic correlations and a magnetization consistent with Ce 3+ . Electrical resistance measurements indicate Kondo behavior between localized Ce 3+ magnetic moments.