Magnetic order and heavy fermion behavior in CePd1+xAl6−x: Synthesis, structure, and physical properties

The physical properties including magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and electrical resistivity of single crystals are reported for the compound CePd1+xAl6−x (x=0.5) which crystallizes in the tetragonal SrAu2Ga5-type structure (space group P4/mmm). The compound was grown from an excess of molten Al flux from the respective elements and the crystal structure was established from single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Anomalies in the low temperature specific heat Cp(T) and electrical resistivity ρ(T) show that the compound undergoes ferromagnetic order at TC=2.8 K. In the ordered state, CePd1.5Al5.5 displays heavy fermion behavior with a Sommerfeld coefficient of ca. 500 mJ/mol-K2.