  We present a detailed characterization of the recently discovered i-$R$-Cd
($R$ = Y, Gd-Tm) binary quasicrystals by means of x-ray diffraction,
temperature-dependent dc and ac magnetization, temperature-dependent resistance
and temperature-dependent specific heat measurements. Structurally, the
broadening of x-ray diffraction peaks found for i-$R$-Cd is dominated by
frozen-in phason strain, which is essentially independent of $R$. i-Y-Cd is
weakly diamagnetic and manifests a temperature-independent susceptibility.
i-Gd-Cd can be characterized as a spin-glass below 4.6 K via dc magnetization
cusp, a third order non-linear magnetic susceptibility peak, a
frequency-dependent freezing temperature and a broad maximum in the specific
heat. i-$R$-Cd ($R$ = Ho-Tm) is similar to i-Gd-Cd in terms of features
observed in thermodynamic measurements. i-Tb-Cd and i-Dy-Cd do not show a clear
cusp in their zero-field-cooled dc magnetization data, but instead show a more
rounded, broad local maximum. The resistivity for i-$R$-Cd is of order 300 $\mu
\Omega$ cm and weakly temperature-dependent. The characteristic freezing
temperatures for i-$R$-Cd ($R$ = Gd-Tm) deviate from the de Gennes scaling, in
a manner consistent with crystal electric field splitting induced local moment
anisotropy.
