Transport and magnetic properties of cobalt doped CeNiAl4

Electrical resistivity and thermoelectric power (TEP) have been measured in polycrystalline sample of CeNi0.75Co0.25Al4. The magnetization measurements have been performed in oriented powder with a-axis of the crystallites parallel to the external magnetic field. All the data have been compared with its parent compound CeNiAl4. In the range 120–300 K, the Seebeck coefficient is significantly higher for alloy than for the parent material and exhibits a peak at ∼150 K. R(T)/R(300) follows a logarithmic temperature dependence for all samples above 100 K, and rapidly decreases as the temperature is lowered. The decrement is much faster in the cobalt doped samples than in the parent compound, suggesting stronger electronic correlations in the former. Inverse magnetic susceptibility in oriented powder follows a Curie–Weiss law above 100 K and shows peff=2.7 slightly higher than that of the free Ce3+ ion value of 2.5.