Magnetic measurements on single crystals of dysprosium trifluoromethanesulfonate nonahydrate; effects of crystal field perturbed energy levels

Magnetic susceptibility measurements on single crystals of dysprosium trifluoromethanesulfonate (DyTFMS) have been carried out from 300K down to 13K. The hexagonal crystal structure of DyTFMS renders the crystal uniaxial with the Kramers ion Dy3+ occupying a site of C3h symmetry. The principal magnetic susceptibilities, observed by us and the Friedberg group, over the wide range 300 to ∼1.0K find an excellent theoretical simulation by the crystal field perturbed J-mixed eigenvectors with due consideration of the intermediate coupling effects. No ordering effects were noticed down to ∼13K indicating the interionic interaction to be predominantly of the dipolar type which is consistent with the discovery of a ferromagnetic transition at T∼0.111K by the Friedberg group. The g-values derived from other sources are reasonably accounted for. The thermal behavior of quadrupole splitting and that of electronic and nuclear heat capacities is also worked out.