Magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity of dilute liquid copper-iron alloys

Electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements on dilute liquid CuFe alloys are reported. Small additions of Fe increase the resistivity of liquid Cu in a drastic manner, whereas the temperature coefficient is found to be decreased. Due to the localized magnetic moments of the impurity atoms the diamagnetism of Cu is converted into a strong temperature-dependent paramagnetism indicating about 3.5 unpaired d electrons per Fe atom. The electronic properties of CuFe resemble those of liquid CuMn and AuFe which, in the solid state, are known for their Kondo-like behaviour. The experimental findings are tentatively interpreted in terms of spin-disorder scattering with special emphasis on the negative temperature coefficient of the impurity resistivity.