  The results of ac and dc magnetic susceptibility isothermal magnetization and
heat-capacity measurements as a function of temperature (T) are reported for
Sr3NiRhO6 and Sr3NiPtO6 containing magnetic chains arranged in a triangular
fashion in the basal plane and crystallizing in K4CdCl6-derived rhombohedral
structure. The results establish that both the compounds are magnetically
frustrated, however in different ways. In the case of the Rh compound, the
susceptibility data reveal that there are two magnetic transitions, one in the
range 10 -15 K and the other appearing as a smooth crossover near 45 K, with a
large frequency dependence of ac susceptibility in the range 10 to 40 K; in
addition, the features in C(T) are smeared out at these temperatures. The
magnetic properties are comparable to those of previously known few compounds
with partially disordered antiferromagnetic structure. On the other hand, for
Sr3NiPtO6, there is no evidence for long-range magnetic ordering down to 1.8 K
despite large value of paramagnetic Curie temperature.
