Baumbach, RyanBalicas, LuisMcCandless, Gregory T.Sotelo, PaolaZhang, Qiu R.Evans, JessCamdzic, DinoMartin, Thomas J.Chan, Julia Y.Macaluso, Robin T.2020-04-132020-04-132018-10-200022-4596http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jssc.2018.10.008https://hdl.handle.net/10735.1/7934Due to copyright restrictions and/or publisher's policy full text access from Treasures at UT Dallas is limited to current UTD affiliates (use the provided Link to Article).X-ray diffraction, crystal structure, magnetization, and heat capacity results are presented for the rare earth chalcogenide ternary system PrCu₀.₄₅Te₂ and its non-4⨍ analogue LaCu₀.₄₀Te₂. The crystal structure of PrCu₀.₄₅Te₂ is characterized by chains of edge and corner-sharing CuTe₄ tetrahedra and Pr centered in polyhedra comprised of Cu and Te. The Cu site is partially occupied and exhibits signatures of local disorder. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show a Curie-Weiss temperature dependence consistent with a Pr³⁺ state. No magnetic ordering is observed down to 1.8 K, but the negative Curie-Weiss temperature suggests an antiferromagnetic exchange interaction. Importantly, the low temperature heat capacity of PrCu₀.₄₅Te₂ is strongly enhanced by comparison to LaCu₀.₄₀Te₂, suggesting that there is a build-up of entropy that is associated with the 4f-electrons from the Pr³⁺ ions. These features reveal possible spin frustration behavior and introduce this family of materials as a template for studying new phenomenon.en©2018 Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.SemiconductorsCrystal growthThermoelectric materialsMatter—PropertiesCopperChalcogenidesRheniumSuperconductivityChemistryPraseodymiumLanthanumTelluriumarticleBaumbach, Ryan, Luis Balicas, Gregory T. McCandless, Paola Sotelo, et al. 2019. "One-dimensional tellurium chains: Crystal structure and thermodynamic properties of PrCuₓTe₂ (x ~ 0.45)." Journal of Solid State Chemistry 269: 553-557, doi: 10.1016/j.jssc.2018.10.008269