Crystal Growth, Transport, and Magnetic Properties of YbCoGa₅

Single crystals of YbCoGa5 have been synthesized using gallium flux. YbCoGa5 crystallizes in the HoCoGa5 structure type with space group P4/mmm (No. 123), Z = 1 and lattice parameters a = 4.190(1) Å, c = 6.727(3) Å, and V = 118.10(7) Å3. The cell volume obtained from single crystal X-ray diffraction data shows a larger volume than expected for a Yb3+ compound. Magnetic susceptibility measurements on single crystals of YbCoGa5 display temperature independent Pauli paramagnetic behavior. Electrical resistivity measurements of YbCoGa5 display metallic behavior with a residual resistivity ratio (RRR) of 150 indicating the high crystal quality.