Optical properties of Group X-XII intermetallic compounds studied by HR-EELS

Electronic structure of d orbital states in transition metals is a key factor for their physical properties and chemical functions. Copper and intermetallic compound PdZn have good catalysis function for the methanol steam reforming reaction. Tsai et al. showed that from results of XPS measurements the d electronic structure of PdZn was similar with that of copper, and the catalysis function should be related to the d electron states [1]. This similarity of d electronic states leads to another view point of the mechanism for coloring the intermetallic compounds. It is well-known that the characteristic red color of copper is caused by interband transition from the d electrons. Therefore, PdZn and Group X-XII intermetallic compounds are expected to be colored and the optical properties should depend on the d electronic states. In this study, the relations between optical properties and d electron states of Group X-XII intermetallic compounds were investigated by using high energy-resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy (HR-EELS) based on transmission electron microscopy (TEM). From the relation between optical properties and d electronic states, the mechanism of colored intermetallic compounds will be discussed.Figure shows the optical reflectivity of NiZn, PdZn and PtZn, which were derived from EELS spectra by Kramers-Kronig analysis. Intensity drops (arrows) of the reflectivity were observed in visible energy region. These are caused by the interband transitions from d electronic states. The energy positions of the reflectivity drops have tendency of shifting to higher energy side with increasing atomic number of Group X elements (Ni → Pd → Pt). This indicates that the transition energies of d electrons become larger with the atomic number of the elements. First principle calculations (WIEN2k) confirmed that the interband transitions of d electronic states were excitations from bonding d states to hybrid states of anti-bonding s, p, and d states of Group X elements. The bonding anti-bonding energy split increase with the atomic numbers because of increasing crossover of wave function. This implies the intermetallic compounds should be colored and the color should be changed gradually depending on the atomic number of Group X elements.