Magnetism of neodymium trifluoromethanesulfonate nonahydrate and effects of the crystal field

The principal magnetic susceptibilities of neodymium trifluoromethanesulfonate nonahydrate (NdTFMS) were measured between 300.0 and 12.5K. The hexagonal crystal structure of NdTFMS is very similar to that of the hydrated rare-earth ethylsulfates with the Nd3+ ion occupying a site of C3h symmetry. An excellent description of the observed results was obtained using one-electron crystal field theory with the set of parameters derived from a fit to the observed absorption spectra. No ordering effects were noticed indicating the interionic interaction to be of predominantly dipolar type. The g-values were calculated to be 3.81 and 2.02 for g∥ and g⊥, respectively. The nuclear quadrupole splitting, and the electronic and nuclear heat capacities were also computed.