Thermal and conductometric studies of NdBr3 and NdBr3-LiBr binary system

The heat capacity of solid NdBr₃ was measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry in the temperature range from 300 K up to the melting temperature. The heat capacity of liquid NdBr₃ was also determined. These results were least-squares fitted to a temperature polynome. The melting enthalpy of NdBr₃ was measured separately. DSC was used also to study phase equilibrium in the NdBr₃-LiBr system. The results obtained provided a basis for constructing the phase diagram of the system under investigation. It represents a typical example of simple eutectic system. The eutectic composition, x(NdBr₃)=0.278, was obtained from the Tamman construction. This eutectic mixture melts at 678 K. The electrical conductivity of NdBr₃-LiBr liquid mixtures and of pure components was measured down to temperatures below solidification. Reflectance spectra of the pure components and their solid mixtures (after homogenisation in the liquid state) with different composition were recorded in order to confirm the reliability of the constructed phase diagram. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.