  Electronic properties of the sodium cobaltate NaxCoO2 are systematically
studied through a precise control of band filling. Resistivity, magnetic
susceptibility and specific heat measurements are carried out on a series of
high-quality polycrystalline samples prepared at 200 C with Na content in a
wide range of 0.35 =< x =< 0.70. It is found that dramatic changes in
electronic properties take place at a critical Na concentration x* that lies
between 0.58 and 0.59, which separates a Pauli paramagnetic and a Curie-Weiss
metals. It is suggested that at x* the Fermi level touches the bottom of the
a1g band at the gamma point, leading to a crucial change in the density of
states across x* and the emergence of a small electron pocket around the gamma
point for x > x*.
