Abstract

Magnetic susceptibility, ytterbium LIII-edge x-ray absorption and tin-119 Mössbauer spectral measurements have been carried out to probe the electronic structure of ytterbium and tin in the filled or partially filled skutterudite compounds, YbyCo4Sb12-xSnx, over a range of x and y values. The ytterbium valence obtained from the magnetic susceptibility and ytterbium LIII-edge x-ray absorption measurements is in excellent agreement and clearly reveals an evolution from intermediate valence ytterbium for x=0 to nearly divalent ytterbium for x=0.8. This evolution parallels an increase in the unit cell volume and hence in the ytterbium site volume available as the tin content increases. The tin-119 Mössbauer spectral hyperfine parameters indicate, without question, that tin substitutes on the antimony sublattice of the skutterudite structure. Further, the tin electronic configuration is both very similar to that of the antimony in the structure and insensitive to the ytterbium content, y.

Department(s)

Chemistry

Keywords and Phrases

Antimony Sublattice; Skutterudite Compounds; Electronic Structure; Magnetic Moments; Magnetic Susceptibility; Mössbauer Spectroscopy; Thermoelectric Equipment; Tin; X Ray Spectroscopy; Yttrium

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0021-8979

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Final Version

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2003 American Institute of Physics (AIP), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Nov 2003

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