Synthesis and structure determination of Ce6Cd23Te: a new chalcogen-containing member of theRE6Cd23T family (REis a rare-earth metal and T is a late group 14, 15 and 16 element)

Abstract

The ternary phase hexacerium tricosacadmium telluride, Ce6Cd23Te, was synthesized by a high-temperature reaction of the elements in sealed Nb ampoules and was structurally characterized by powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structure, established from single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods, is isopointal with the Zr6Zn23Si structure type (Pearson symbolcF120, cubic space groupFm-3m), a filled version of the Th6Mn23structure with the same space group and Pearson symbolcF116. Though no Cd-containing rare-earth metal binaries are known to form with this structure, it appears that the addition of small amounts of ap-block element allows the formation of such interstitially stabilized ternary compounds. Temperature-dependent direct current (dc) magnetization measurements suggest local-moment magnetism arising from the Ce3+ground state, with possible valence fluctuations at low temperature, inferred from the deviations from the Curie–Weiss law.