E.S.R. Study of copper and silver N,N-dialkyldiselenocarbamates

Single crystal E.S.R. studies of Cu(II) and Ag(II) dialkyldiselenocarbamates, diluted in the corresponding Ni(II) complexes, are reported. A method has been developed which removes the necessity to measure the spectra on the same single crystal and in three mutually orthogonal planes. Equations have been derived for the resonance fields and the transition probabilities, taking into account the full spin hamiltonian and without assuming coinciding tensor axes. Applying these equations the g tensor and the metal hyperfine and quadrupole coupling tensors are obtained in high precision. In contrast to the situation in the corresponding dithiocarbamates, it was found for all diselenocarbamates studied that the axes of the g and metal hyperfine tensor do not coincide and that the relative orientation depends on the central metal ion and on the molecular symmetry. The highest g value was always found in the molecular plane, whereas in the dithiocarbamates the highest value is found perpendicular to the molecular plane. The spectra reveal the presence of two sets of two equivalent Se atoms, so that the molecule has inversion symmetry. Especially from the measured ⁷⁷Se hyperfine splittings it could be concluded that the built in guest molecule accepts the structure of the host crystal. Also measurements are reported on powders, glasses and liquid solutions. Evidence has been obtained that in the latter two media the g and metal hyperfine principal axes coincide.