Crystal field state compounds

The magnetic properties of Pu compounds in different oxidation states are reviewed. New measurements on Pu(C8H8)2, PuFi, [(C2Hs)itN]2PuCl6, and [ (C2H5)itN]itPu(NCS)s are presented. The interpretation of the data is based on intermediate, j-j mixed crystal field states and orbital reduction due to covalency. Especially in the case of the organometallic compounds a large orbital reduction is found. 

Another factor contributing to the asymmetry and breadth of absorption bands in crystal field spectra of transition metal ions is the dynamic Jahn-Teller effect, particularly for dissolved hexahydrated ions such as [Fe(H20)6]2+ and [Ti(H20)6]3+, which are not subjected to static distortions of a crystal structure. The degeneracies of the excited 5Eg and 2Eg crystal field states of Fe2+ and Ti3+, respectively, are resolved into two levels during the lifetime of the electronic transition. This is too short to induce static distortion of the ligand environment even when the cations occupy regular octahedral sites as in the periclase structure. A dual electronic transition to the resolved energy levels of the Eg excited states causes asymmetry and contributes to the broadened absorption bands in spectra of most Ti(m) and Fe(II) compounds and minerals (cf. figs 3.1,3.2 and 5.2). 

Andrews et al. (1996) also studied the compound CeBen, a material having a Tk 400 K. This material is significant in that the large Tr precludes any complications from crystal field levels which are often cited as responsible for the nearly constant spectral weight of the KR, despite the fact that Joyce and Arko (1993) have definitively shown (sect. 6) that inclusion of crystal field states in the GS code does not alter the predicted scaling with Jr. The temperature dependence of this material has already been discussed in sect. 12 and shown to be conventional, while the dosing experiments in sect. 13 clearly point to the Ce 4f5/2 as being bulk-like. 

Color from Transition-Metal Compounds and Impurities. The energy levels of the excited states of the unpaked electrons of transition-metal ions in crystals are controlled by the field of the surrounding cations or cationic groups. Erom a purely ionic point of view, this is explained by the electrostatic interactions of crystal field theory ligand field theory is a more advanced approach also incorporating molecular orbital concepts. 

The poor data on PuF6 are probably best interpreted as a very small TIP of about 150 x 10-6 emu indicating a singlet ground state and a large crystal field splitting of the octahedral compound ( 5). 

Besides this, the remarkable properties of gold(I) compounds, which often give rise to aurophilic interactions and/or to luminescence, are of interest when these properties are transported into the liquid crystal field. Although there is much still to be studied, it is already clear that luminescence can survive in the condensed but mobile state of a mesophase, and even in the isotropic liquid state of a molten gold compound. It also seems that aurophilicity can contribute in some cases to the formation of mesophases. 

---