Synthesis, magnetic and transport properties of Ru1-xSbxSr2GdCu2O8 compounds

Polycrystalline samples with a nominal composition Ru1-xSbxSr2GdCu2O8-d were prepared by a solid state reaction technique. A mixture of RuO2, Sb2O3, Gd2O3, SrCO3 and CuO was used to obtain the samples. We performed X-ray diffraction analyses, DC susceptibility and transport measurements and the studies showed that the samples were almost pure Ru-1212 phase. We also observed that Sb doping reduce the conductivity of the system and the transition temperature decreases with increasing Sb content. This may be due to a distortion of RuO6 octahedral which is responsible for the increase of holes localization.