Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Proton spin-lattice relaxation mechanisms and the metal-insulator transition in cerium hydrides

Journal Article · · Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States)

Nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) experiments have been done on cerium hydride (CeH/sub x/) samples to search for correlations between NMR properties and known electrical conductivity changes as a function of hydrogen concentration and temperature. Data are presented for the /sup 1/H spin-lattice relaxation rate R/sub 1/ ( = 1/T/sub 1/) and some line shapes for 2.10< or =x< or =2.92 for temperatures from about 100 to 375 K. Although two /sup 1/H resonances are observed at some temperatures, proton spin-lattice relaxation is characterized by a single relaxation time at each x and T. To a good approximation R/sub 1/ = A/T+R, where A/T is attributed to direct dipolar coupling between protons and the electronic magnetic dipole moment of Ce/sup 3 +/, and R is an essentially temperature-independent term attributed to indirect (Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY)) coupling to the Ce/sup 3 +/ moment. The A/T term is so large that for most experiments the proton-proton dipolar and proton--conduction-electron couplings are negligible. The x dependence of the constant A is consistent with the dipolar coupling. The constant R decreases in a steep manner as x is increased above xroughly-equal2.65 just below the regime 2.75

Research Organization:
Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne 70600, Israel
OSTI ID:
5256606
Journal Information:
Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States), Journal Name: Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States) Vol. 29:1; ISSN PRBMD
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English