EPR and optical investigation of VO(II) in Zn(C3H3O4)2(H2O)2 single crystals: An interstitial site

EPR spectroscopic investigations on single crystals of diaquabis[malonato(1-)-κ²O,O′] zinc(II) doped with VO(II) ion have been carried out at X-band frequencies and at 300 K. The single crystal, rotated along the three mutually orthogonally axes, has yielded spin-Hamiltonian parameters g and A as: g_xx=1.980, g_yy=1.972, g_zz=1.937 and A_xx=8.4, A_yy=6.1, A_zz=18.1 mT, respectively. These spin-Hamiltonian parameters reflect a slight deviation from axial symmetry to rhombic, which is elucidated by the interstitial occupation of vanadyl ions. The isofrequency plots and powder EPR spectrum have been simulated. The percentage of metal-oxygen bond has been estimated. The optical absorption spectrum exhibits four bands at 257, 592, 720 and 764 nm suggesting a C_4v symmetry. The admixture coefficients and bonding parameters have also been calculated by collaborating EPR data with optical data.     

Observation of three sites for vanadyl in a biomineral, zinc sodium phosphate hexahydrate: an EPR investigation

Single crystal EPR study has been carried at room temperature for VO(II) doped zinc sodium phosphate hexahydrate. Single crystal rotations in each of the three mutually orthogonal crystallographic planes namely bc, ac, and ab indicate three chemically inequivalent sites, with intensity ratios of 25:13:1. The spin Hamiltonian parameters obtained for the two intense sites are: Site I: g_xx=1.983, g_yy=1.985, g_zz=1.933; A_xx=7.39 mT, A_yy=7.15 mT, A_zz=19.03 mT; Site. II: g_xx=1.985, g_yy=1.985, g_zz=1.937; A_xx=7.36 mT, A_yy=7.25 mT, A_zz=18.67 mT. The two VO bond directions in the two sites are approximately at right angles to each other. The powder spectrum clearly indicates two chemically inequivalent sites, confirming the single crystal analysis. Admixture coefficients, Fermi contact, and dipolar interaction terms have also been evaluated.     

Impurity in three substitutional locations: Single-crystal EPR study of VO(II) in zinc maleate tetrahydrate

Single-crystal EPR study of VO(II)-doped zinc maleate tetrahydrate has been carried out at room temperature. Four types of impurities have been identified in the single-crystal spectra with intensity ratio of 11:5:2:1. However, the analysis has been done only for the three most intense resonances. The evaluated spin Hamiltonian parameters (A in units of mT) from single-crystal rotations are site I: g_xx=1.981, g_yy=1.971, g_zz=1.939; A_xx=7.43, A_yy=7.70, A_zz=18.7; site II: g_xx=1.973, g_yy=1.966, g_zz=1.939; A_xx=7.08, A_yy=7.22, A_zz=18.5; site III: g_xx=1.978, g_yy=1.977, g_zz=1.951; A_xx=7.11, A_yy=7.32, A_zz=18.3.The powder spectrum gives only one set of g and A values, confirming the presence of only one chemically equivalent site. The paramagnetic impurity, VO(II), has entered the lattice substitutionally for all the three sites. The superhyperfine structure, in the intensity ratio of 1:4:6:4:1, arising from the protons of the water ligands, has been found in one site. The admixture coefficients have been calculated and the complex is found to be fairly covalent in nature.     

Single-crystal EPR investigation of Mn(II)-doped biomineral cobalt ammonium phosphate hexahydrate: a case of multiple substitutions

Single-crystal electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) study of Mn(II)-doped cobalt ammonium phosphate hexahydrate has been carried out at room temperature. The impurity shows more than 30 line pattern EPR spectra along the three crystallographic axes, suggesting the existence of more than one type of impurity ion in the host lattice. The spin Hamiltonian parameters, estimated from the three mutually orthogonal crystal rotations, are: site 1: g _xx =1.989, g _yy =1.994, g _zz =1.999; A _xx =?8.97, A _yy =?9.52, A _zz =?9.71 mT; D _xx =?8.09 mT, D _yy =?6.05 mT, D _zz =14.14 mT; site 2: g _xx =1.988, g _yy =2.009, g _zz =2.019; A _xx =?9.11 mT, A _yy =?9.58 mT, A _zz =?9.93 mT; D _xx =?6.61 mT, D _yy =?6.11 mT, D _zz =12.72 mT. The angular variation studies further reveal that the Mn(II) impurities enter the lattice substitutionally. The other Mn(II) sites which are at interstitial locations are difficult to follow due to their low intensity. The variation of zero-field splitting parameter with temperature indicates no phase transition. The observation of well-resolved Mn(II) spectrum at room temperature has been interpreted in terms of ‘host spin-lattice relaxation narrowing’ mechanism.     

Interstitial Substitution of VO(II) in Hexaaquazinc(diaquabismalonato)zincate: A Rare Observation

Single-crystal electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies of VO(II) doped in hexaaquazinc(diaquabismalonto)zincate have been performed at room temperature. Single-crystal rotations along the three orthogonal axes show the presence of a single site in an interstitial position and the location has been identified from crystal data of the host lattice. The spin-Hamiltonian parameters calculated from EPR spectra are g _xx  = 1.973, g _yy  = 1.972, g _zz  = 1.930, A _xx  = 7.05 mT, A _yy  = 6.85 mT, A _zz  = 18.93 mT. Molecular orbital coefficients β ² = 0.71 and ε ² = 0.62 have been calculated and reveal a moderately covalent metal–ligand bond. Optical and EPR data have been used to obtain crystal field parameters, admixture and molecular orbital coefficients.     

Effect of paramagnetic doping on an inorganic polymer triaquadipotassiumbis(malonato)zincate: spectroscopic investigation

Spectroscopic investigations on Mn(II)-doped triaquadipotassiumbis(malonato)zincate [K₂(H₂O)₃] [Zn(mal)₂], an inorganic polymer, have been carried out at room temperature using single crystal electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), ultraviolet–visible, FT-IR and powder XRD techniques. Single crystal rotations along the three orthogonal axes show more than 30 lines of patterns in EPR spectra, indicating the presence of two sites, one with a large D value and the other with a smaller D value. The calculated spin-Hamiltonian parameters are as follows. Site 1: g _xx =2.099, g _yy =2.092, g _zz =1.988, A _xx =9.77, A _yy =9.71, A _zz =8.96 mT, D _xx =?29.09, D _yy =?11.90, D _zz =40.99 mT; Site 2: g _xx =2.040, g _yy =1.995, g _zz =1.924, A _xx =9.51, A _yy =9.09, A _zz =8.80 mT, D _xx =?11.94, D _yy =?7.51 and D _zz =19.45 mT. The direction cosines of g/A/D do not match with the direction cosines of Zn–O bonds in the host lattice for either site, suggesting that both the Mn(II) sites entered the lattice interstitially. Optical results indicate a strong covalent bonding between the metal ion and ligands, with site symmetry being primarily octahedral. The FT-IR and powder XRD data confirm the retention of the crystal structure, even after incorporating a paramagnetic probe. Various admixture coefficients, bonding and optical parameters have also been calculated.     

Observation of a Substitutional Location for VO(II) in Hexaaquazinc(diaquabismalonato)zincate in Different Crystals,in Addition to Interstitial: An Unusual Observation

Single-crystal electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies of VO(II) doped in hexaaquazinc(diaquabismalonto)zincate have indicated interstitial location for vanadyl, which was a rare observation, considering the structure of the host lattice (K. Arun Prasath Lingam, S. Mithira and P. Sambasiva Rao, Appl. Magn. Reson. 38:295, 2010). However, substitutional location is noticed in a different crystal, in which interstitial resonances are almost absent. Generally, both types of resonances will be noticed in the same crystal. The spin Hamiltonian parameters calculated from the EPR spectra for substitutional location are: g _xx  = 1.981, g _yy  = 1.976, g _zz  = 1.941, A _xx  = 7.96 mT, A _yy  = 6.09 mT, and A _zz  = 17.83 mT. Crystal-field parameters, admixture and molecular orbital coefficients have been calculated from optical data, which reveal a moderately covalent metal–ligand bonding.     

Single crystal EPR studies of Mn(II) doped into zinc ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (ZnNH4PO4·6H2O): A case of interstitial site for bio-mineral analogue

Single crystal EPR studies of Mn(II)-doped zinc ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (ZnNH₄PC₄·6H₂O) have been reinvestigated at room temperature. Single crystal rotations along the three orthogonal axes indicate that the spin Hamiltonian parameters for the interstitial site are:g _xx = 1.966,g _yy = 1.972,g _zz = 1.976;D _xx = -12.28 mT,D _yy = -2.09 mT andD _zz = 14.37 mT;A _xx = 9.06 mT,A _yy = 9.06 mT andA _zz = 11.09 mT;a = -0.11 mT. These parameters differ considerably from the previous report of Chand and Agarwal and indicate the orthorhombic nature of the paramagnetic impurity. The impurity is found to enter the lattice interstitially, in contrast to earlier prediction of substitutional position. The percentage covalency of the Mn-0 bond has been estimated.     

EPR,FTIR, Powder XRD and Optical Absorption Studies of Cu(II) Ion in Triaqua(1,10-Phenanthroline-k<Superscript>2</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>′)(Sulfato-kO)Zinc(II)

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), optical, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies have been carried out on Cu(II)-doped triaqua(1,10-phenanthroline-k² N,N′)(sulfato-kO)zinc(II) to get information about the position and spin Hamiltonian parameters of the dopant. Angular variation of copper hyperfine structure lines in EPR study shows the presence of a single site with g and A values as: g _xx  = 2.003, g _yy  = 2.001, g _zz  = 2.223; A _xx  = 4.41 mT, A _yy  = 2.39 mT and A _zz  = 12.16 mT. The slightly lower parallel value obtained for the copper nucleus has been explained by considering admixture of the ground state with the excited state. The direction cosines of principle g and A values suggest that the impurity is present interstitially. Admixture coefficients and additional parameters (P, k, α ², α′) have also been evaluated. Optical, FTIR and powder XRD techniques have been used to reconfirm the structure of the host lattice.     

ESR studies of Cu2+ doped in SrC4H4O6·3H2O single crystals

Electron spin resonance spectra of Cu²⁺ doped in single crystals of strontium tartrate trihydrate grown by a diffusion technique have been investigated at 77K. Copper enters the lattice substitutionally and is trapped at two magnetically inequivalent sites. ESR measurements gave the following values for the spin-Hamiltonian parameters. Cu²⁺(I): g_gg = 2.0380, g_yy = 2.1317, g_zz = 2.3918 and A_xx = 26.3 G, A_yy = 56.3 G, A_zz = 110.8 G. Cu²⁺(II): g_xx = 2.0497, g_yy = 2.1297, g_zz = 2.3706 and A_xx = 19.2 G, A_yy = 61.4 G, A_zz = 107.2 G.     

Studies of the zero-field splitting and g-factor for the defect model of Cr in α-LiIO3 crystals at low temperature

The EPR zero-field splitting parameters D and g-factors for Cr³⁺ in α-LiIO₃ single crystal, taking into account both the effect of lattice distortion and two Li⁺ vacancies, have been investigated using a complete diagonalization method (CDM) for 3d³ ions in a trigonal symmetry crystal field. The theoretical results (D=−0.60876 cm⁻¹, g_∥=1.9641, g_⊥=1.9682) are in excellent agreement with experimental results (D=−0.6099(3) cm⁻¹g_∥=1.965±0.001, g_⊥=1.971±0.002). In addition, Macfarlane's perturbation expressions lead to results almost identical with the CDM for Cr³⁺ in an α-LiIO₃ single crystal.     

EPR and optical-absorption studies of Cu2+-doped Zn(NH2(CH2)3NHOH)2Ni(CN)4 single crystals

Electron paramagnetic resonance of Cu²⁺-doped catena-trans-bis(N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-ethylenediamine) zinc(II)-tetra-μ-cyanonicelate(II) [Zn(NH₂(CH₂)₃NHOH)₂Ni(CN)₄] single crystals and powder are examined at room temperature. The spectra show the substitution of the Zn²⁺ ion with the Cu²⁺ ion. The crystal field around the Cu²⁺ ion is nearly axial. There is a single paramagnetic site withg _xx=2.073,g _yy=2.060,g _zz=2.248,A _xx=40.5 G,A _yy=50.8 G,A _zz=172.0 G. The ground-state wave function is an admixture of d _x ²−y ² and d _z ² states. The optical-absorption studies show two bands at 320 nm (31250 cm⁻¹) and 614 nm (16286 cm⁻¹) which confirm the axial symmetry. The crystal field parameters and the wave function are determined.     

Substitutional location for a vanadyl ion in three water coordinated triaqua(1,10-phenanthroline-k2N,N′) (sulfato-kO)magnesium(II) complex: a rare observation

Vanadyl ion substitutes for the central ion, if the doped complex has at least four water molecules. However, the present EPR, XRD, FT-IR and optical absorption studies on vanadyl-doped triaqua(1,10-phenanthroline-k²N,N′)(sulfato-kO)magnesium(II) suggest a substitutional defective nature, which is a rare observation. Single crystal EPR studies in three mutually orthogonal planes indicate two chemically non-equivalent sites with different intensities. However, the lower intensity site could not be analysed due to its weaker intensity and overlap with other sites during crystal rotations. The spin Hamiltonian parameters obtained for the major site are as follows: g _xx =1.973, g _yy =1.972, g _zz =1.930; A _xx =7.15, A _yy =6.77, A _zz =18.92 mT. The direction cosines of principal g and A values suggest that the impurity has entered the lattice substitutionally, which is a very uncommon phenomenon. Admixture coefficients, Fermi contact, dipolar interaction and covalency of metal–ligand bonds have also been evaluated. Optical, FT-IR and powder XRD techniques confirm the structure of the complex.     

EPR study of Cu(II) dopant ions in single crystals of bis(l-asparaginato)Zn(II)

We report an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) study at 33.9 GHz and room temperature of oriented single crystal samples of bis(l-asparaginato)Zn(II) doped with Cu(II). The variation of the spectra with magnetic field orientation was measured in three crystal planes (a*b, bc and a*c, with a*=b×c). These spectra display two groups of four peaks arising from the hyperfine interaction with the I_Cu=3/2 nuclear spins of copper. They were assigned to Cu(II) ions in two lattice sites related by a 180° rotation around the b-crystal axis. The g and hyperfine coupling (A) tensors of the Cu(II) ions were evaluated from the single crystal data. Some indeterminacy in the assignment of the signals was avoided measuring the EPR spectrum of a powder sample. Their principal values are g₁=2.060(1), g₂=2.068(2), g₃=2.283(2), and A₁≈0.1×10⁻⁴, A₂=13×10⁻⁴ and A₃=165×10⁻⁴ cm⁻¹. The eigenvectors corresponding to g₃ and A₃ are coincident within the experimental error; the other eigenvectors are rotated 5.6° in the perpendicular plane. Considering the crystal structure of bis(l-asparaginato)Zn(II), our EPR results indicate that the Cu(II) impurities replace Zn(II) ions in the host crystal. We propose a molecular model based on the EPR data and the structural information, and analyse the results comparing the measured values with those obtained in similar systems.     

EPR and optical absorption studies of vanadyl impurity in zinc potassium phosphate hexahydrate single crystal

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) study of VO²⁺ doped zinc potassium phosphate hexahydrate single crystal is carried out. The angular variation of the spectra is studied in the three crystallographic planes. The principal value of spin Hamiltonian parameters g and A and the direction cosines which principal axes make with the crystallographic axes are determined. The observed values are site I: g_∥=1.9664±0.0002, g_⊥=1.9973±0.0002, A_∥=150±2×10⁻⁴, A_⊥=60±2×10⁻⁴ cm⁻¹; site II: g_∥=1.9276±0.0002, g_⊥=1.9921±0.0002, A_∥=155±2×10⁻⁴ and A_⊥=62±2×10⁻⁴ cm⁻¹. By comparison of direction cosines of g from EPR with the direction cosines of different bonds obtained from crystal structure data it is ascertained that the VO²⁺ ion occupies Zn²⁺ substitutional sites. The optical absorption study of the crystal at room temperature is also carried out. The bands observed in the optical absorption spectrum are attributed to d-d transitions. The EPR results together with the optical data are employed to estimate the molecular orbital (MO) coefficients. These MO coefficients (also called bonding coefficients) are further used to discuss the nature of bonding of VO²⁺ ion with different ligands in the crystal.     

Single crystal EPR investigation on Mn(II) doped biomineral: cobalt potassium phosphate hexahydrate

Single crystal EPR study of Mn(II) doped in cobalt potassium phosphate hexahydrate has been carried out at room temperature. The impurity shows a 30 line pattern EPR spectra along a particular crystallographic axis suggesting the existence of only one type of impurity in place of Co(II) ion in the host lattice. The spin Hamiltonian parameters have been estimated as: g₁₁=2.011, g₂₂=1.998, g₃₃=1.991, and A₁₁=−8.9, A₂₂=−8.8, A₃₃=−8.4 mT and D₁₁=−15.2, D₂₂=−9.4, D₃₃=24.6 mT, respectively. The sign of A is designated as negative and D as positive. The covalency of metal-oxygen bond has been estimated. The relaxation times, calculated as a function of temperature, indicate spin-lattice relaxation narrowing at room temperature.     

Crystal field investigation on the magnetic properties of Yb in Yb(CF3SO3)3·9H2O

Ytterbium tri-fluoromethanesulfonate (YbTFMS) single crystals are prepared from the slow evaporation of the aqueous solution of YbTFMS and the principal magnetic susceptibility perpendicular to the c-axis of the hexagonal crystal (χ_⊥) is measured from 300 K down to 13 K. Principal magnetic anisotropy Δχ(=χ_∥−χ_⊥) is measured from 300 K down to 80 K which provides principal magnetic susceptibility parallel to the c-axis (χ_∥) down to 80 K. Very good theoretical simulation of the observed magnetic properties of YbTFMS has been obtained using one electron crystal field (CF) analysis having C_3h site symmetry. No signature of ordering effect in the observed magnetic data is noticed down to the lowest temperature (13 K) attained, indicating the inter-ionic interaction to be of predominantly dipolar type. The calculated g-values are found to be g_∥=2.67 and g_⊥=2.51, respectively. CF analysis provides the electronic specific heat which gives two Schottky anomalies in its thermal variation down to ∼13 K. The temperature dependences of quadrupole splitting and hyperfine heat capacity are studied from the necessary information obtained from the CF analysis.     

Characterisation of the Ru/MgF2 catalyst with adsorbed O2, NO, CO probe molecules by EPR and IR spectroscopy

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy were used to study the formation of ruthenium and adsorbed species appearing on the catalyst during O₂, NO, and CO adsorption at room temperature on 1 wt% Ru/MgF₂ catalysts prepared from Ru₃(CO)₁₂ . Both EPR and IR results provided clear evidence for the interaction between surface ruthenium and probe molecules. No EPR signals due to ruthenium (Ru) species were recorded at 300 and 77 K after H₂-reduction of the catalyst at 673 K. However, at 4.2 K a very weak EPR spectrum due to low-spin (4d⁵) Ru³⁺ complexes was detected. A weak anisotropic O₂^- radicals signal with g_∣∣=2.017 and g_⊥=2.003 superimposed on a broad (ΔB_pp=120 mT), slightly asymmetric line at g=2.45(1) was identified after O₂ admission to the reduced sample. Adsorption of NO gives only a broad, Gaussian-shaped EPR line at g=2.43(1) indicating that the admission of NO, similarly to O₂ adsorption, brings about an oxidation of Ru species in the course of the NO decomposition reaction. Introduction of NO over the CO preadsorbed catalyst leads to EPR spectrum with parameters g_⊥=1.996, g_∣∣=1.895, and A_⊥^N=2.9 mT assigned to surface NO species associated with Ru ions. The IR spectra recorded after adsorption of NO or CO probe molecules showed the bands in the range of frequency characteristic of ruthenium nitrosyl, nitro, and nitrate/nitrite species and the bands characteristic of ruthenium mono-and multicarbonyls, respectively. Addition of CO after NO admission to the catalyst leads to appearance in the IR spectrum, beside the ones characteristic of NO adsorption, the bands which can be attributed to Ru-CO₂ and Ru-NCO species, indicating that the reaction between NO and CO occurs. These species were also detected after CO adsorption followed by NO adsorption, additionally to the band at 1850 cm⁻¹ being due to cis-type species.     

Theoretical examination of optical and EPR spectra for Cu ion in K2PdCl4 crystal

In this work, two d-d transition spectra and four EPR parameters g_∥, g_⊥, A_∥, A_⊥ of K₂PdCl₄/Cu²⁺ are uniformly interpreted based on Zhao's crystal-field model. The calculation result is in good agreement with the experiment findings. The ligand spin-orbit coupling is neglected on the calculation, which is consistent with the ab initio result by Hillier et al. [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 98 (1976) 95]     

A New Paramagnetic Nitrogen Center in Natural Titanium-Containing Diamonds

A new type of nitrogen-related center in natural diamond labeled NU1 is identified as a 〈100〉 split interstitial configuration by means of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. In PL this center is seen as an electron-vibration system with a zero-phonon line at 485 nm in the crystals containing S1/OK1 and 440.3 nm/N3 centers. NU1 EPR spectra are described by a spin-Hamiltonian with parameters: S = ½, I = 1 and A _xx (N) = 22.5 G, A _yy (N) = 19.5 G, A _zz (N) = 20.55 G, g _xx  = 2.0043, g _yy  = 2.0032, g _zz  = 2.0020. Directions of A _zz and g _zz coincide and correspond to [001]. The directions of A _xx and A _yy coincide with those of g _xx and g _yy and correspond to [110] and [?110], respectively. Analysis of the phonon structure of the NU1 center suggested that titanium can be the second atom together with nitrogen in the structure of a split interstitial.