Studies of 27Al NMR in SrAl4

Abstract

A charge density wave (CDW) transition at TCDW = 243K and a structural phase (SP) transition at approximately 100K occur in SrAl4 with the BaAl4-type body center tetragonal structure, which is the divalent and non-4f electron reference compound of EuAl4. To understand the behaviors of the CDW and SP transitions, the 27Al NMR measurements using a single crystal and a powder sample of SrAl4 have been carried out. The line width below TCDW is modulated by an electrical quadruple interaction between 27Al nucleus and CDW charge modulation. The incommensurate CDW state below TCDW changes into a different structure below TSP. The temperature dependences of Knight shifts of 27Al(I) and 27Al(II) show the different behaviors. The temperature variation of 27Al(I) Knight shift shows anomalies at the CDW and SP transition temperatures, revealing the shift to negative side below TCDW, which is attributable to the core polarization of the d-electrons. However, 27Al(II) Knight shift keeps almost constant except for the small shift due to the SP transition. The 1/T1T of 27Al(I) indicates the obvious changes due to the CDW and SP transitions, while that of 27Al(II) takes a constant value. The density of state at the Fermi level at Al(I) site below 60K would be about 0.9 times less than that above TCDW.