Crystal structure, magnetism and transport properties of Ce3Ni25.75Ru3.16Al4.1B10

Single crystals of Ce3Ni25.75Ru3.16Al4.1B10 were obtained from a process in which a polycrystalline sample of CeRu2Al2B was annealed in an excess of a Ni–In flux. The initial phase, CeRu2Al2B, does not recrystallize, instead, crystals of a new phase, Ce3Ni25.75Ru3.16Al4.1B10, could be isolated once the flux was removed. The title compound crystallizes in the tetragonal space group P4/nmm (No. 129) with a=1139.02(8), c=801.68(6) pm (c/a=0.70) in the Nd3Ni29Si4B10 structure type. Electrical resistivity measurements reveal metallic behavior with a minimum of 700 µΩ cm and a small residual resistivity ratio of RRR=1.4 indicating a large amount of disorder scattering. The cerium atoms are either in the 4+ or an intermediate valence state with a valence fluctuation temperature far above room temperature.