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

Single crystals of a new intermetallic gallide, R-CePd3Ga8, have been synthesized from excess molten gallium. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that R-CePd3Ga8 crystallizes in the R-3m space group with a=b=c=8.4903(10) Å and α=β=γ=89.993(17). R-CePd3Ga8 is a variant of the cubic BaHg11 structure type with three structural units: a Ce-centered polyhedron, a distorted cube of Pd2Ga6 and a Pd-centered cuboctahedron. The distortions of these units are compared to undistorted analogous units in intermetallic compounds with BaHg11 structure type. Field and temperature-dependent magnetization measurements on R-CePd3Ga8 reveal a paramagnetic material with strong antiferromagnetic correlations and a magnetization consistent with Ce3+. Electrical resistance measurements indicate Kondo behavior between localized Ce3+ magnetic moments.