Magnetization and transport properties of single crystalline RPd${_2}$P${_2}$ (R=Y, La-Nd, Sm-Ho, Yb)

TL;DR

This study investigates the magnetic and transport properties of single crystalline RPd${_2}$P${_2}$ compounds across various rare earth elements, revealing diverse magnetic behaviors and anisotropies influenced by crystal electric field effects.

Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive experimental characterization of the magnetic and transport properties of the RPd${_2}$P${_2}$ series, highlighting the effects of different rare earth ions on magnetic ordering and anisotropy.

Findings

YbPd${_2}$P${_2}$ is non-magnetic with Yb$^{+2}$ ions.

CePd${_2}$P${_2}$ and PrPd${_2}$P${_2}$ exhibit low-temperature ferromagnetic order.

Most other compounds show antiferromagnetic ordering at low temperatures.

Abstract

Single crystals of RPd${_2}$P${_2}$ (R=Y, La-Nd, Sm-Ho, Yb) were grown out of a high temperature solution rich in Pd and P and characterized by room-temperature powder X-ray diffraction, anisotropic temperature- and field-dependent magnetization and temperature-dependent in-plane resistivity measurements. In this series, YPd${_2}$P${_2}$ and LaPd${_2}$P${_2}$ and YbPd${_2}$P${_2}$ (with Yb$^{+2}$) are non local-moment bearing, whereas CePd${_2}$P${_2}$ and PrPd${_2}$P${_2}$ order at low temperature with a ferromagnetic component along the crystallographic c-axis. The rest of the series manifest low temperature antiferromagnetic ordering. EuPd${_2}$P${_2}$ has Eu$^{+2}$ ions and both EuPd${_2}$P${_2}$ and GdPd${_2}$P${_2}$ have isotropic paramagnetic susceptibilities consistent with $L = 0$ and $J=S=\frac{7}{2}$ and exhibit multiple magnetic transitions. For R=Eu-Dy, there are multiple, $T>1.8$ K transitions in zero applied magnetic field and for R=Nd, Eu, Gd, Tb, and Dy there are clear metamagnetic transitions at T=2.0 K for $H<55$ kOe. Strong anisotropies arising mostly from crystal electric field (CEF) effects were observed for most magnetic rare earths with $L\neq 0$. The experimentally estimated CEF parameters B$^2_0$ were calculated from the anisotropic paramagnetic $\theta_{ab}$ and $ \theta_{c}$ values and compared to theoretical trends across the rare earth series. The ordering temperatures as well as the polycrystalline averaged paramagnetic Curie-Weiss temperature, $\theta_{ave}$, were extracted from magnetization and resistivity measurements, and compared to the de-Gennes factor.