Electronic structure in dilute alloys

Abstract

Solvent Knight shifts in dilute liquid alloys based on Al, In and Sb are reported. Together with data on Na, Li, Cu, Ag and Pb solvents, the Knight shifts and other properties affected by impurities in metals are related to the electronic structure of their atomic cells. The electron redistribution near impurities is shown to vary with solute species roughly as predicted by the one-electron approximation, but the amplitude of the Knight shift change is reduced in polyvalent cells. The observed structure of the solute screening charge and the reduced Knight shifts are both attributed to the effect of electron interactions in the ionic field of polyvalent cells.