Magnetic and physical properties of new hexagonal compounds PrPt$_4X$ ($X$ = Ag, Au)

Abstract

We have synthesized PrPt$_4$Ag and PrPt$_4$Au compounds for the first time and report their crystal structure, as well as magnetic and physical properties in the temperature range of 1.9~K to 300~K. Both compounds are derived from the substitution of Pt with Ag and Au, respectively in the parent compound PrPt$_5$ which crystallizes in the hexagonal CaCu$_5$-type structure. Here we observed the preservation of the hexagonal CaCu$_5$-type structure under such substitutions, which is in contrast to the observations in PrCu$_4$Ag and PrCu$_4$Au adopting the cubic MgCu$_4$Sn-type structure upon substitution on parent hexagonal PrCu$_5$. The temperature dependences of specific heat $C_p(T)$, and electrical resistivity $\rho(T)$ of PrPt$_4$Ag show an anomaly at 7.6~K. This is absent in the magnetic susceptibility $\chi(T)$, thus suggesting a possible multipolar ordering of the Pr$^{3+}$ moment. PrPt$_4$Au on the other hand does not show any anomaly but an upturn in $C_p(T)/T$ below about 10~K and attains 1.23~J/(mol K$^2$) at 1.9~K. In addition, $\rho(T)$ $\sim T$ for nearly a decade in temperature. These observations for PrPt$_4$Au are the hallmark of a non-Fermi liquid (nFL) behavior and is characteristic of a system near a quantum critical point. The analyses of the low-temperature $C_p(T)$ for PrPt$_4$Ag and PrPt$_4$Au give values of the Sommerfeld coefficient, $\gamma = 728.5~$mJ/(mol K$^2$) and 509.1~mJ/(mol K$^2$), respectively, indicating a significant enhancement of the quasiparticle mass in the two compounds.