Magnetic properties of R(2)CoGa(3) (R=rare earth) compounds

R(2)CoGa(3) compounds (R = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er and Y) crystallize in the hexagonal P6(3)/mcm space group. In these compounds the Co atoms have practically no magnetic moment. The heavy rare earth compounds order ferromagnetically with relatively low Curie temperatures (3 K (Er) less than or equal to T-c less than or equal to 50 K (Gd)). The compounds with Tb and Dy, and to a smaller extent the Ho compound, present irreversibilities in their magnetization processes, and there are maxima in the zero-field-cooled susceptibility curves.