Crystal-field study of magnetization and specific heat properties of frustrated pyrochlore Pr2Zr2O7

The experimental results of temperature dependent dc magnetic susceptibility, field dependent isothermal magnetization, magnetic specific heat and entropy of the pyrochlore Pr2Zr2O7 are simulated and analyzed using appropriate D-3d crystal-field (CF) and anisotropic molecular field tensors at Pr-sites in the self-consistent mean-field approach involving four magnetically non-equivalent rare-earth spins on the tetrahedral unit of the pyrochlore structure. CF level pattern and wave-functions of the ground H-3(4) multiplet of the Pr3+ ions are obtained considering intermediate coupling between different Russell-Saunders terms of the 4f(2) electronic configurations of Pr-ion and J-mixing effects. CF analysis shows that the CF ground-state of the Pr3+ ion in Pr2Zr2O7 is a well-isolated doublet, with significant admixtures of terms coming from vertical bar M-J = +/- 4 > and vertical bar M-J= +/- 1 >, and the Pr-spins are effectively [sing-like along the local < 111 > axes. Magnetic specific heat in zero-field is simulated by considering a temperature dependence of the exchange splitting of the ground doublet. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.