Crystal-field induced anomalies in the thermoelectric power and electrical resistivity of amorphous cerium alloys

The amorphous alloys Ce₇₂Cu₂₈, Ce₈₀Au₂₀ and Ce₈₉Al₁₁ exhibit a pronounced maximum in the thermoelectric power near 50 K, together with a step-like increase of the electrical resistivity. This is interpreted in terms of a model invoking Kondo scattering from the cerium 4f states split by the local crystal fields of the amorphous matrix. The data for the alloys with Cu and Au indicate a narrow distribution of the overall crystalfield splittings. This hints at a rather uniform structural short-range order.