Growth, crystal structure and magnetic characterization of Zn-stabilized CePtIn₄

The growth and characterization of CePtIn₄, stabilized by 10% Zn substitution for In, is reported. The new material is orthorhombic, space group Cmcm (No. 63), with lattice parameters a = 4.51751(4) Å, b = 16.7570(2) Å, and c = 7.36682(8) Å, and the refined crystal composition has 10% of Zn substituted for In, i.e., the crystals are CePt(In_0.9Zn_0.1)₄. Crystals were grown using a self-flux method: only growths containing Zn yielded CePtIn₄ crystals, while Ce₃Pt₄In₁₃ crystals formed when Zn was not present. Anisotropic temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibilities for single crystals show that Zn-stabilized CePtIn₄ orders magnetically at ~1.9 K. High-temperature Curie–Weiss fits indicate an effective moment of ~2.49 μ_B/Ce and a directionally averaged Weiss-temperature of approximately −31 K. Specific heat data shows a peak consistent with the ordering temperature seen in the magnetic susceptibility data. Zn-stabilized CePtIn₄ is metallic and displays no superconducting transition down to 0.14 K.