Crystal structure and physical properties of Ce3Rh5Si

Highlights: ► The formation of novel compound Ce3Rh5Si was established. ► A new type of crystal structure was recognized. ► The low-temperature magnetic and electrical behavior of Ce3Rh5Si was determined. - Abstract: The crystal structure of the novel compound Ce3Rh5Si was solved by means of powder diffraction pattern analysis using the charge-flipping method. The refinements yielded the space group Pnma and the orthorhombic unit cell parameters: a = 1.52632(2) nm, b = 0.55092(1) nm, and c = 0.75302(1) nm. A characteristic feature of the crystal structure of Ce3Rh5Si are vertex-sharing [Rh4] and [Rh3Si] tetrahedra, which form a three-dimensional framework with Ce atoms located inside truncated tetrahedral voids. The structure exhibits close relationship with those of CeRh2 (MgCu2-type) and Ce2Rh3Si (Y2Rh3Si-type). Magnetic and electrical resistivity measurements of Ce3Rh5Si were performed down to 2 K. The compound was characterized as a Pauli paramagnet with metallic character of the electrical conductivity.