Synthesis, structure and physical properties of YbNi3Al9.23.

The physical properties of YbNi{sub 3}Al{sub 9.23}, including the crystal structure, magnetization, specific heat, valence, and electrical resistivity, are reported. Single crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that the compound crystallizes with the rhombohedral space group R32 and has unit cell parameters a=7.2443(3) A and c=27.251(3) A with some crystallographic disorder on an Al site. The compound orders antiferromagnetically at T{sub N}=3 K despite the presence of strong ferromagnetic correlations, accompanied by a spin flop-like transition to a moment-aligned rate above 0.1 T. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate a localized Yb{sup 3+} electronic configuration, while the Sommerfeld coefficient in the magnetically ordered state was determined to be approximately 135 mJ/mol-K{sup 2}, suggesting moderately heavy fermion behavior. Therefore, these data indicate a balance between competing Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) and Kondo interactions in YbNi{sub 3}Al{sub 9.23} with a somewhat dominant RKKY interaction that leads to a relatively high ordering temperature.