Magnetic and transport properties of selected YbxGd1−xNi5 intermetallics

We report the magnetic and transport properties of the YbxGd1−xNi5 (x ≤ 0.5) intermetallic compounds. According to the X-ray diffraction (XRD) this series crystallize in the hexagonal CaCu5-type structure. The magnetic properties in the studied system strongly depends on Yb concentration. Moreover, the so-called field cooled–zero field cooled (FC–ZFC) curves reveal an unexpected existence of a negative magnetization M in a certain temperature range. The M(T) dependences exhibit two compensation points in which the value of M equals zero. The origin of the observed behaviour may be due to the possible switching effect in spin (M4fS) and orbital (M4fL) moment within 4f sublattice. Near the compensation points where the opposing contribution from 4f local magnetic moments are nearly equals the conduction electron polarization become significant. Additionally, the observed exchange bias in the vicinity of the compensation point can be attributed to the anisotropy between the coupling within spin (M4fS) and orbital (M4fL) moments. The observed unique behaviour is the most evident in the case of x = 0.4 ytterbium concentration. The transport properties confirm the results obtained by the magnetic studies.