Challenges and Rewards of Single Crystal Flux Growth: Physical Properties of Structurally Related Ln-Ru-Al Intermetallics

The availability of single crystals is vital for understanding the intrinsic properties of crystalline materials. The flux growth method is a versatile technique which may be used to grow single crystals. However, their synthesis can often be challenging, especially when a competing phase is very robust. Herein, we study the growth competition between structurally related compounds in the Ln-Ru-Al phase space. We demonstrate the benefits of single crystals and suggest methods to grow competing phases. CeRu2Al10 has garnered interest due to its higher ordering temperate than expected from de Gennes scaling and its metal-to-insulator transition at the same temperature. Here, we report the magnetic and transport properties of three sets of compounds which are structurally related to CeRu2Al10: LnRu2Al10 (Ln = Pr, Gd, Yb), CeRu4(Al,Si)15.58, and Ln2Ru3Al15 (Ln = Ce, Gd, Tb). We find that despite the structural similarities, none of these compound display properties similar to those of CeRu2Al10. Our extensive study of these structurally related compounds allows us to draw conclusions about the structure-property relationships in these systems