Solid effect between quadrupolar transitions in dilute Cu-Pd alloys

The paper investigates the Dynamic Solid Effect (DSE) in Nuclear Quadrupole Double Resonance (NQDOR) on a system (dilute alloys of CuPd with 8, 42, 210, or 1000 at.ppm Pd) chosen for its simplicity and the possibility to test the theoretical concepts on which the experimental techniques (in particular the so-called Berthier-Minier technique for exhibiting the DSE) are based. NQDOR allows to observe the transitions between the Cu nuclear energy levels split by the quadrupolar interaction with the electric field gradients generated by nearby Pd atoms even in dilute alloys, in which the fraction of Cu nuclei experiencing a given field gradient is very small, The DSE permits transitions at frequencies corresponding to the sums or differences of quadrupolar level splittings at neighbouring nuclei and thus gives access to information on the spatial correlation of nuclei accessible to NQDOR studies. The DSE information is shown to be in full accord with the conclusions drawn earlier, on the basis of line-intensity arguments, on the assignment of quadrupolar transitions to the first four shells of Cu nuclei surrounding isolated Pd atoms but, in addition, allows to identify the low-frequency NQDOR lines associated with Cu nuclei in the fifth and sixth shells.