Isotope effect in electron scattering by H or D in palladium

Electron scattering by interstitial hydrogen or deuterium in palladium is investigated by means of measurements of de Haas-van Alphen Dingle temperatures, Tsub(D), and electrical resistivity, rho. For Fermi-surface orbits with a strong d character dTsub(D)/dx (x is the number of interstitial atoms per Pd atom) is approximately twice as large in PdDsub(x) as in PdHsub(x). For electrons on the large GAMMA-centred Fermi-surface sheet, however, dTsub(D)/dx=750 K for both H and D. This value is much smaller than values predicted by average-t-matrix calculations. The experimental value for dTsub(D)/dx is, however, confirmed by electrical resistivity measurements on homogeneous α-PdHsub(x) and α-PdDsub(x) samples prepared by rapidly cooling down the samples from the hydrogen (deuterium) loading temperature (typically 600 K) to helium temperature. (author)