Structure and magnetic properties of sulfides of the type CdRE₂S₄ and Mg(Gd_xYb_1−x)₂S₄

CdRE₂S₄ (RE = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Yb) and Mg(Gd_xYb_1−x)₂S₄ were prepared by solid-state reactions. All the cadmium-containing compounds are cubic, i.e., the Th₃P₄ structure for Gd, Tb, and Dy and the spinel type for all the others. The first three compounds were deficient in CdS. In the case of the Mg system, for x = 1 the system is cubic Th₃P₄, for x = 0 cubic spinel, and for 0 < x < 1 orthorhombic MnY₂S₄ (Cmc2₁). All the materials studied are paramagnetic above 77 K. Below 77 K in the magnesium family both cubic materials are paramagnetic down to 4.2 K and the orthorhombic materials show magnetic ordering. In the cadmium family all but CdTm₂S₄ show exchange coupling.