On the charge transfer in ternary rare earth intermetallics with ThCr₂Si₂-type structure

Abstract

X-ray absorption spectroscopic (XAS) technique has been employed for the study of charge transfer in the ternary intermetallic compounds RM₂X₂ (R=Nd, Sm and Gd; M=Mn, Fe, Co, Ni and Cu; X=Si or Ge). It is found that each constituent R, M and X in RM₂X₂ compounds contributes electrons to the conduction band. Further, the XAS study in conjunction with Mossbauer measurements on the samples RFe₂Ge₂ (R=Nd and Gd) indicate that there is no charge transfer from R and Ge to the 3d band of Fe.