Compton profile study of V3Ge and Cr3Ge

Abstract

In this paper the results of a Compton profile study of two polycrystalline A15 compounds, namely, V3Ge and Cr3Ge, have been reported. The measurements have been performed using 59.54 keV γ-rays from an 241 Am source. The theoretical Compton profiles have been computed for both the compounds using ab-initio linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO) method employing CRYSTAL98. For both the A15 compounds, the isotropic experimental profiles are found to be in good overall agreement with the calculations. The comparison points out residual differences in V3Ge whereas for Cr3Ge the differences are within experimental error. The behaviour of valence electrons in the two iso-structural compounds has been examined on the scale of Fermi momentum. The valence electron distribution seems to be dominated by the metallic constituents rather than Ge and two compounds show covalent nature of bonding which is larger in V3Ge compared to Cr3Ge.