Heat Capacity Studies of NdNi4Si Compound
M. Falkowski a,
a Institute of Molecular Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Smoluchowskiego 17, 60-179 Poznań, Poland
b Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Watsonova 47, 043 53 Košice, Slovakia
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The study of the heat capacity of the intermetallic compound NdNi4Si including the effect of the magnetic field is reported. This compound crystallizes in the hexagonal CaCu5-type structure, space group P6/mmm. NdNi4Si is ferromagnetic with TC = 8 K and the saturation magnetic moment of 1.5 μB/f.u. at 4.2 K (in H = 9 T). The heat capacity was analyzed considering the electronic contribution, the Schottky anomaly, and the lattice contributions in the frames of the Debye model. The scheme of the energy levels created by the crystal electric field split is determined from the Schottky contribution to the specific heat. NdNi4Si was characterized by the electronic heat capacity coefficient γ = 85 mJ/(mol K2) and the Debye temperature ΘpD = 325 K.
DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.115.126
PACS numbers: 65.40.De, 65.40.gd, 71.20.Eh, 71.70.-da