  We have systematically studied the substitution of nonmagnetic Zn and
magnetic Ni at iron sites in Ce based oxypnictide. The parent compound
(CeOFeAs) shows an anomaly in resistivity around 150 K due to structural
transition from tetragonal (space group: P4/nmm) to orthorhombic structure
(space group: Cmma). Substitution of Zn suppresses this anomaly to lower
temperature (~130 K) but Ni substitution does not show any anomaly around this
temperature and the compound behaves like a metal. Further, we find that non
magnetic (Zn) doping leads to higher impurity scattering as compared to
magnetic Ni doping. Similar to the resistivity measurement, the specific heat
shows another jump near 4 K for CeOFeAs. This is attributed to the ordering of
Ce3+ moments. This peak shifts to 3.8 K for Zn substituted compound and there
is no change in the ordering temperature in the Ni substituted CeOFeAs. These
peaks are broadened in applied magnetic field (5 T) and the calculated magnetic
entropy tends to saturate at the same value for 0 T and 5 T external magnetic
field.
