Electronic properties of CeNi4Si compound.

Temperature dependence of the specific heat for CeNi4Si was analyzed. These studies were supported magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy measurements. CeNi4Si is paramagnetic and follows the Curie-Weiss law with μeff = 0.52 μB/f.u. and θp = -2 K. This effective paramagnetic moment is lower than that for the free Ce3+. The f-occupancy nf and coupling A between the f level and the conduction state are derived to be about 0.91 and 36 meV, respectively. Both susceptibility data and the XPS spectra have shown that Ce ions are in intermediate valence state. The specific heat has been analyzed considering the electronic contribution, the Schottky anomaly, and the lattice contributions within 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]