Confirming the Unusual Temperature Dependence of the Electric-Field Gradient in Zn

The electric-field gradient (EFG) at nuclei in solids is a sensitive probe of the charge distribution. Experimental data, which previously only existed insulators, have been available for metals with development nuclear measuring techniques since about 1970. An early, systematic investigation temperature dependence EFG metals, originally based on results Cd, but then also extended to various other systems, has suggested proportionality T3/2. However, later measurements structurally and electronically similar material Zn, demonstrated much more complex behavior, were largely ignored time. present experimental effort confirmed reliability this unexpected was unexplained.