HYDROGEN-INTERCALATED NIOBIUM DISELENIDE

Hydrogen-intercalated niobium diselenide was characterized by x-ray di ffraction, electric, and magnetic measurements. In the HxNbSe2 (0 < x less than or equal to 5.2) system, increasing hydrogen content leads t o a transition from metallic to semiconductor-like (x > 1) conduction, associated with the reversible 2H-TaS2 --> 2H-MoS2 structural transfo rmation. The system DxNbSe2 (0 < x less than or equal to 0.53) exhibit s metallic conduction, except for the x = 0.41 and 0.49 compositions. All of the intercalates studied are paramagnetic. The magnetic suscept ibility of 2H-NbSe2, and materials intercalated with small amounts of hydrogen or deuterium is a weak function of temperature. For x > 1, th e hydrogen system shows Curie-Weiss behavior.