Investigations of Dy(FexAl1−x)2 laves phases by x-ray,magnetometric and Mössbauer effect methods

The crystal and magnetic properties of the Dy(Fe_xAl_1-x)₂ (0≤x≤1.0) system are investigated with the X-ray, magnetometric and Mössbauer effect methods. The system constitutes two cubic C15 structure regions separated by hexagonal C14 structure region. The X-ray investigations indicate the structure disorder of the C15 type phases. All compounds of the investigated system are ferrimagnets. Some of them exhibit a pronounced magnetic anisotropy. Substitution of Al for Fe decreases the Curie temperature and the Fe hyperfine magnetic field. The distribution of hyperfine magnetic field at iron sites is correlated with their nearest neighbours configurations. The Mössbauer effect data indicate the existence of the appreciable amount of the covalent apart from the long-range metallic bond in the investigated phases.     

Investigations of crystal and magnetic properties of the Mn5−xFexGe3 intermetallic compounds

The Mn_5?xFe_xGe₃ intermetallic compounds are investigated with X-ray, neutron diffraction, magnetometric and Mössbauer effect methods. It is found that crystal structure of x = 1 compound is of D8₈ type while the structure of x = 3, 4 and 5 compounds is of B8₂ type. All are ferromagnets with collinearly ordered atomic spins. The lattice constants are derived from X-ray diffraction patterns, while magnetometric measurements yield the Curie temperatures and Weiss constants as well as the values of magnetic moments per molecule in ferromagnetic and paramagnetics states. The distributions of Fe and Mn atoms among two non-equivalent crystal sites are determined with the neutron diffraction method and are confirmed by the Mössbauer effect measurements. The parameters of hyperfine interactions are derived from Mössbauer absorption spectra and are attributed to iron atoms in two non-equivalent crystal sites.     

Investigations of Sm6(Mn1-xFex)23 system

The new Sm₆(Mn_1-xFe_x)₂₃(0?x?1.0) system hasbeen synthesized and investigated in a wide temperature range by the X-ray, magnetometric and Mössbauer effect methods. The X-ray studies show that the system forms solid solutions which are isostructural with the Th₆Mn₂₃ type crystal structure throughout the entire compositional range. Both Fe-rich and Mn-rich regions of the system are magnetically ordered and are separated from each other by the non-magnetically ordered 0.22?x?0.33 region. The substitution of Fe atoms for Mn atoms in the Mn-rivh region and similarly of Mn atoms for Fe atoms in the Fe-rich region decreases both the Curie temperature and the value of the magnetic moment per molecule. The temperature dependence of the reciprocal susceptibility obeys the Néel law. The Mössbauer absorption spectra reflect wide distributions of the ⁵⁷Fe hyperfine interaction parameters, and disappearance of long range magnetic coupling of Fe atoms in the magnetically ordered x=0 to 0.22 composition range.     

Hyperfine interactions and crystal field effects in intermetallic compounds between Dy and 3d transition metals

A model based on the relative strengths of the magnetic exchange and electric field interactions is proposed for explaining the differences observed between the ¹⁶¹Dy Mössbauer spectrum of Dy₂Ni₁₇ where two dysprosium sites are observed and spectra of Dy₂Fe₁₇ and Dy₂Co₁₇ which show only one hyperfine pattern.     

Mössbauer effect studies of the Dy12Fe82B6 system

The Mössbauer measurements of both⁵⁷Fe and¹⁶¹Dy in Dy₁₂Fe₈₂B₆ system are reported. The presence of B exceeds the magnetic hyperfine fields at both⁵⁷Fe and¹⁶¹Dy nuclei as compared to corresponding pure metals Fe and Dy respectively. The only small excess of the hyperfine field at⁵⁷Fe nucleus is observed. The excess at¹⁶¹Dy nucleus is about 12% of the free ion Dy³⁺ value.     

Study of DyFe12−xMx compounds by57Fe and161Dy Mössbauer spectroscopy

DyFe_12?xM_x (M=Si,Ti,Cr) were studied with⁵⁷Fe and¹⁶¹Dy Mössbauer spectroscopy. The deduced coupling constants J_RFe of these compounds are about equal. It is found that Si is substituting one particular Fe-site, while Cr is substituting Fe randomly. In DyFe₁₀Si₂ two Fe-sites favour a c-axis anisotropy, while the third one favours the basal plane.     

Mössbauer spectroscopy on RE2Fe14BHx (RE-Y,Ce, Dy,Er) alloys

RE₂Fe₁₄B alloys and some of their hydrides have been studied through⁵⁷Fe and¹⁶¹Dy Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS). For both the paramagnetic and ordered phases a consistent and physically sound analysis of the⁵⁷Fe spectra is presented. Fe hyperfine fields and the local magnetic moments are obtained and compared with magnetic and structural data. A spin reorientation is observed for Er₂Fe₁₄B. A constant collinear structure down to 4.2 K was determined for the other samples. The¹⁶¹Dy spectra are interpreted for a pure ¦J_Z=15/2 > ground multiplet in Dy₂Fe₁₄B and its hydride. The B₂ crystal field parameters were estimated empirically for the Dy-alloy. Their values can account for the anisotropy in the compounds.     

Mössbauer studies of Dy2Fe17−yAly hydrides

The x-ray and Mössbauer measurements of both⁵⁷Fe and¹⁶¹Dy in Dy₂Fe_17–y Al (y=0, 1,5 and 3) compounds and their hydrides are reported.Hydrogenation slightly increases the lattice parameters. An appreciable increase of the isomer shift and the hyperfine field at⁵⁷Fe nuclei is observed after hydrogenation. The hyperfine field for both the parent compound and its hydride decreases with increasing Al content across the series. Only a small variation of the hyperfine field at¹⁶¹Dy nuclei is noticeable after hydrogenation.     

Mössbauer effect studies of Tb<Subscript>0.27</Subscript>Dy<Subscript>0.73</Subscript>(Fe<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Co<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>)2 intermetallics at 295 K

The synthesis of materials and the studies of crystal structure and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer effect were performed for Tb_0.27Dy_0.73(Fe_1?x Co _x )₂ intermetallics. Terfenol-D (Tb_0.27Dy_0.73Fe₂) is the starting compound of this Fe/Co-substituted series. X-ray measurements showed evidence of a pure cubic Laves phase C15, MgCu₂-type, and unit cell parameters were determined across the series. A Co substitution introduced local area, at sub-nanoscale, with random Fe/Co neighbourhoods of the ⁵⁷Fe atoms.Mössbauer effect spectra for the Tb_0.27Dy_0.73(Fe_1?x Co _x )₂ series at room temperature are composed of a number of locally originated subspectra due to the random distribution of Fe and Co atoms in the transition metal sublattice, and due to [1 1 1] an easy axis of magnetization. Isomer shift, magnetic hyperfine field and quadrupole interaction parameter were obtained from the spectra, both for the local area and for the bulk sample.As a result of Fe/Co substitution, a Slater-Pauling-type curve for the average magnetic hyperfine field vs. Co content was observed. It was found that the magnetic hyperfine fields corresponding to the local area also create a dependence of the Slater-Pauling-type vs. Co contribution in the Fe/Co neighbourhoods.     

Mössbauer isomer shift and hyperfine fields of ordered and disordered Fe3Al alloys

The Mössbauer technique was used to measure the hyperfine magnetic field and isomer shift of⁵⁷Fe nucleus in the ordered and disordered Fe₃Al alloys. The Mössbauer spectra were analyzed to yeld the hyperfine magnetic field distribution curves. A linear correlation has been revealed between the average hyperfine field and the average number of Al atoms in the first two nearest neighbour shells of⁵⁷Fe nucleus,N _Al, for both ordered and disordered alloys. The measured values of the mean isomer shift agree very well with the values expected from the Miedema-Van der Woude model.     

161Dy Mössbauer study of the endohedral metallofullerenes Dy@C n (n = 80, 82, 84)

Mössbauer studies of Dy@C _n (n = 80, 82, 84) metallofullerenes were performed at 4.2, 9.6 and 78 K with the ¹⁶¹Dy (25.6 keV) resonance. The observed spectra consist of two subspectra splitted by magnetic hyperfine fields near to the full moment value of trivalent Dy. Paramagnetic relaxation is observed even at 4.2 K. The observed isomer shift is consistent with the Dy³⁺ state and indicates a full charge transfer to the fullerene cage.     

Crystal and magnetic structure of CoMnGe,CoFeGe, FeMnGe and NiFeGe

The crystal and magnetic properties of CoMnGe, CoFeGe, FeMnGe and NiFeGe compounds are investigated with X-ray, neutron diffraction, magnetometric and Mössbauer effect methods. All compounds have hexagonal Ni₂In-type crystal structure and ferromagnetic properties at low temperatures (except for NiFeGe). Neutron diffraction experiments indicate that the compounds CoMnGe and CoFeGe have a collinear magnetic structure while FeMnGe a noncollinear. The magnetic moments are localized only on Mn and Fe atoms and lie in the basal plane.     

Mössbauer spectroscopy of Fe-based nanomaterials

X-ray diffraction, magnetic measurements and Mössbauer spectroscopy were used to study magnetic properties and hyperfine interaction parameters of nanocrystalline (< 10 nm) and bulk bcc Fe, Fe₉₀Ge₁₀, and Fe₇₇Al₂₃ alloys. It has been established that nanocrystalline state does not influence the formation of specific saturation magnetization, Curie temperature, isomer shift and hyperfine magnetic field. No additional sextets in Mö ssbauer spectra as well as special features in temperature dependences of a.c. magnetic susceptibility have been found. A slight increase (～ 20%) of the width of the nanocrystalline Fe Mössbauer spectral lines has been observed.     

Mössbauer effect study of R2Fe14C (R=Dy and Er) compounds

The results of⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer effect measurements and magnetic studies performed on Dy₂Fe₁₄C and Er₂Fe₁₄C compounds are reported. The magnetic contributions of different iron sites are estimated and compared with those of corresponding boron compounds. The magnetic behaviour of the studied compounds is analysed in the molecular field approximation considering a two sublattices ferrimagnet.     

Mössbauer studies of hyperfine fields in disordered Fe2CrAl

Heusler-like alloy Fe₂CrAl was prepared and studied. Structure determination was done by X-ray. The structure was found to conform to the B₂ type. Magnetic hyperfine fields in this sample were studied by the Mössbauer effect. The Mössbauer spectra were recorded over a range of temperature from 40 to 296 K. The Mössbauer spectra showed the co-existence of a paramagnetic part with a magnetic hyperfine portion at all recorded temperatures. Even with the distribution in the magnetic hyperfine field, the average hyperfine field follows the (T/T _c)^3/2 law. The paramagnetic part of the hyperfine field is explained in terms of the clustering of Cr atoms.     

An57Fe Mössbauer study of rare-earth intermetallic compounds R(Fe11Ti)

⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra are reported for the ThMn₁₂ structure series of intermetallic compounds R(Fe₁₁Ti) (R=Y, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Lu). The Mössbauer spectroscopy of oriented absorbers has been used to study the spin reorientation transitions exhibited by the members of the series where the second-order Stevens coefficient α_J of the rare-earth (Nd, Tb and Dy) is negative. A simple model has been established to deduce the canting angle from the Mössbauer spectra of oriented absorbers. The results are analyzed in terms of a crystal-field model. The crystal field parameters must be increased significantly to account for the observed large anisotropy in the Sm(Fe₁₁Ti) compound, which may find applications as a permanent magnet.     

151Eu and57Fe Mössbauer effect studies of magnetic interactions in europium transition element oxides solution

The solid state solutions of europium transition element oxides Eu (Fe0.8M0.2)O₃ (M=Sc,Cr,Mn,Co) are synthesized. The X-ray diffraction of the compound shows that all the compounds possess the perovskite structures. Both the¹⁵¹Eu Mössbauer spectra and the⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra are measured. The hyperfine magnetic field and non-axisymmetric electric field gradient are observed in the¹⁵¹Eu Mössbauer spectrum. The⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectrum shows that there are four components of hyperfine fields corresponding to four kinds of different neighbours of the Fe ion.     

237Np and 57Fe Mössbauer study of NpFeGa5

⁵⁷Fe and ²³⁷Np Mössbauer ōmeasurements have been performed for NpFeGa₅, which is one of the so-called neptunium 1-1-5 compounds. The ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra below T _N = 118 K show the magnetically ordered state. The magnitude of the hyperfine magnetic field at the ⁵⁷Fe nucleus is determined to be 1.98 ± 0.05 T at 10 K. From the ²³⁷Np Mössbauer spectrum at 10 K, the hyperfine magnetic field at the ²³⁷Np nucleus is 203 T and the hyperfine coupling constant is determined to be 237 T/μ_B using the Np atomic magnetic moment of 0.86 μ_B determined by the neutron diffraction study.     

Magnetic properties of the R1+eFe4B4 compounds (R = rare earth) from magnetization and Mössbauer measurements

The magnetic properties of rare earth-iron-boron alloys with composition R_1+eFe₄B₄ have been determined using Mössbauer and magnetization measurements. Magnetic ordering occurs at temperatures between 4.2 and 25 K for the compounds with R = Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho. The Curie temperature scales very well with the de Gennes factor for the heavy rare earth members of the series, while significant deviations are observed for the light rare earths indicating the presence of strong CEF effects. The absence of magnetic hyperfine splitting even at 4.2 K indicates that the Fe ion has a zero magnetic moment. This is confirmed by Mössbauer spectra in an applied magnetic field.     

On the character of the unusual morin type transition in a cobalt-substituted dysprosium orthoferrite

Magnetic measurements and Mössbauer spectroscopy revealed two types of spin reorientation in DyFe_0.9975Co_0.0025O₃ in the temperature range 77–300 K. The higher temperature transition was a continuous rotation of Fe³⁺ spins from the a to the c axes of the single crystal in the region 260-145 K. The lower temperature transition was from a weakly ferromagnetic to the purely antiferromagnetic state. A peculiarity was observed with both methods. When the Fe³⁺ spins, turning from the a towards the c axis, form an angle of about 20° with the latter, they do not proceed to reach c, but jump to the b axis and the crystal becomes a pure antiferromagnet. An external magnetic field of 10 kOe, H_ext  c, does not change this reorientation pattern, but a smaller field along a completes the reorientation along the c axis. Mössbauer spectra indicate two hyperfine fields during the continuous spin reorientation.