Charge-doping-driven evolution of magnetism and non-Fermi-liquid behavior in the filled skutterudite CePt4Ge(12-x)Sb(x)

Phys Rev Lett. 2012 Dec 7;109(23):236405. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.236405. Epub 2012 Dec 4.

Abstract

The filled skutterudite compound CePt(4)Ge(12) is situated close to the border between the intermediate valence of Ce and heavy-fermion behavior. Substitution of Ge by Sb drives the system into a strongly correlated and, ultimately, upon further increasing the Sb concentration, an antiferromagnetically ordered state. Our experiments evidence a delicate interplay of emerging Kondo physics and the formation of a local 4f moment. An extended non-Fermi-liquid region, which can be understood in the framework of a Kondo-disorder model, is observed. Band-structure calculations support the conclusion that the physical properties are governed by the interplay of electron supply via Sb substitution and the concomitant volume effects.