Abstract
Ce4B2C2H2.42 was grown as large crystals from a cerium/copper eutectic flux. The structure was characterized by single-crystal X-ray and neutron diffraction and was found to be a stuffed variant of Nd2BC with the addition of two interstitial hydrogen positions. The tetrahedral hydrogen position is fully occupied, while the octahedral position has an occupancy of 42(3)%. Initial synthesis was due to hydrogen contamination of the cerium metal but has been successfully repeated using anthracene as a carbon and hydrogen source. Density of states calculations suggest that the incorporation of hydrogen stabilizes the compound with respect to the nonhydrided model. Magnetic susceptibility data show a complex magnetic ordering at 7.7 K that originates from the localized electron on the Ce3+ in the structure. The trivalent state is also supported by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. Heat capacity and electrical resistivity data show that the phase transition is broad in temperature, which may be due to structural disorder. The large low temperature value of C/T also indicates possible heavy fermion behavior.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 5164-5171 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Crystal Growth and Design |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1 2021 |
Funding
This research was supported by the Division of Materials Research of the National Science Foundation (Grant DMR-18-08471). This research used resources in the X-ray Crystallography Center at the FSU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (FSU075000XRAY). This work made use of SEM-EDS equipment of the Biological Sciences Imaging Resource (BSIR) in the Florida State University Department of Biology and XPS equipment of the Condensed Matter and Material Physics (CMMP) group in the Florida State University Department of Physics; we thank Dr. Eric Lochner for guidance with these instruments. The magnetization and electrical resistivity measurements were performed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, which is supported by National Science Foundation Cooperative Agreement No. DMR-1644779 and the State of Florida. Neutron diffraction data were collected at TOPAZ (BL-12) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source, a DOE Office of Science User Facility.