ON THE MAGNETIC AND VALENCE PROPERTIES OF CE-MG-Y COMPOUNDS

The structural and magnetic properties of a series of novel compounds in the ternary Ce-Mg-Y system have been studied by X-ray diffraction, SQUID magnetometry and XAS spectroscopy. The crystal structures of the compounds Ce0.33Y0.67Mg2 and Ce0.49Y0.51Mg4.7 have been refined by th e Rietveld technique. Magnetic data are consistent with a tripositive ground state F-2(5/2) for the cerium atom. The XAS measurements confir m this result. Crystal field effects are apparent in the magnetic data at temperatures below about 50 K in the compounds with higher Ce conc entration.