Heavy fermion and Kondo lattice behavior in the itinerant ferromagnet CeCrGe3

Physical properties of polycrystalline CeCrGe3 and LaCrGe3 have been investigated by x-ray absorption spectroscopy, magnetic susceptibility χ(T), isothermal magnetization M(H), electrical resistivity ρ(T), specific heat C(T) and thermoelectric power S(T) measurements. These compounds are found to crystallize in the hexagonal perovskite structure (space group P63 mmc), as previously reported. The ρ(T), χ(T) and C(T) data confirm the bulk ferromagnetic ordering of itinerant Cr moments in LaCrGe3 and CeCrGe3 with TC = 90 K and 70 K respectively. In addition, a weak anomaly is also observed near 3 K in the C(T) data of CeCrGe3. The T dependences of ρ and finite values of Sommerfeld coefficient γ obtained from the specific heat measurements confirm that both the compounds are of metallic character. Further, the T dependence of ρ of CeCrGe3 reflects a Kondo lattice behavior. An enhanced γ of 130 mJ mol−1 K−2 together with the Kondo lattice behavior inferred from the ρ(T) establish CeCrGe3 as a moderate heavy fermion compound with a quasi-particle mass renormalization factor of 45.