Effect of hydrostatic pressure on the elastic properties of some rare earth-iron laves phase compounds

The pressure dependence of the Young's and shear moduli of RFe₂ (R = Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho and Er) has been determined at room temperature in the pressure range between 0 and 1 GPa The elastic moduli of GdFe₂, DyFe₂, HoFe₂ and ErFe₂ show a moderate increase with increasing hydrostatic pressure However, the elastic moduli of SmFe₂ and TbFe₂ exhibit an initially drastic increase followed by a high, and linear, pressure dependence From the pressure and temperature derivatives of the elastic moduli of these RFe₂ Laves phase compounds the equations of state and the Gruneisen parameters have been derived The variation of the elastic properties with hydrostatic pressure is compared with the effect of magnetic fields The anomalous behavior of SmFe₂ and TbFe₂ is discussed.     

Hydrogen absorption and its effect on the magnetic properties of rare-earth iron intermetallics

X-ray diffraction studies of the hydrogen absorption in several YFe and CeFe intermetallic compounds showed that no structural changes occur upon hydrogen absorption in Y₆Fe₂₃, YFe₃, YFe₂. The lattice constants of the hydrides were found to be appreciably larger than those of the pure intermetallic compounds. The magnetic properties of the hydrides were determined and compared with the original compounds. In all cases the magnetic moment per Fe atom proved to be much larger in the hydride phases. Hydrogen absorption can lead to a decrease as well as to an increase of the magnetic ordering temperature (T_c). These changes in T_c could adequately be explained in terms of the observed increases in lattice constant and the data available for the pressure derivative of T_c of these compounds.     

Strengthening of some spinodal binary and pseudobinary copper alloys

Age hardening and microstructure (TEM) in the Cu-Ni-Sn and Cu-Ti alloys is studied. The annealing curves with a plateau and a double peak are discussed with respect to the structure development.     

Itinerant electron metamagnetism and peculiar magnetic properties observed in 3d and 5f intermetallics

A review is presented on the recent advances in theoretical and experimental studies of itinerant electron metamagnetism (IEM) found in 3d and 5f intermetallic compounds without magnetic rare-earth elements. These compounds exhibit various peculiar magnetic properties characteristic of IEM under high magnetic fields and high pressures. The observed IEM and peculiar properties are found to be qualitatively explained very well by theories of IEM based on the spin fluctuation model.     

Temperature and magnetic field dependence of the elastic properties of rare earth-cobalt laves phase compounds

Ultrasonic sound velocity measurements have been carried out in order to determine the elastic moduli, adiabatic compressibility and the Debye temperature of polycrystalline rare earth-cobalt Laves phase compounds RCo₂(R = Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, ErandLu) and YCo₂ between 4.2 and 300 K. DyCo₂ HoCo₂ and ErCo₂ exhibit a first-order transition at T_c. In SmCo₂ and TbCo₂ the phase transition is of the second-order accompanied by a large lattice softening. NdCo₂, GdCo₂ and HoCo₂ show spin reorientations from one easy direction of magnetization to another one, at low temperatures, below T_c.The influence of an external magnetic field (up to 25 kOe) on the elastic properties of these Laves phases, the so-called ΔE effect was determined. No saturation was reached in SmCo₂, TbCo₂ and DyCo₂ in magnetic fields up to 25 kOe. The behavior of the RCo₂ compounds was compared with that of RFe₂, published earlier.     

TDPAC measurements on phase transition and hydrogen up-take in C15 laves phases

Intermetallic compounds with C15 structure are studied by TDPAC in the search for changes in the electric field gradient (EFG) on¹⁸¹Ta probes due to martensitic phase transition and hydrogen absorption. The residual low EFG of the cubic phase of HfV₂, ZrV₂ and Hf₅Zr₅V₂ is distinctly increased in the low temperature modification. Hydrogen does not affect the distribution of probe sites, but influences the features of the martensitic transition. In TaV₂ the sites with low EFG are split into an unperturbed and a strongly perturbed fraction.     

Density-functional theory study on the electronic properties of laves phase superconductor CaIr_2

In this work we have used density-functional theory methods such as full-potential local orbital minimum basis(FPLO) and ELK-flapw to study the electronic structure of newly discovered Laves phase superconductor CaIr_2.The calculation of density of states(DOS) indicates that the bands near Fermi level are mostly occupied by the d-electrons of iridium.The simulation of de Haas-van Alphen(dHvA) effect has been performed by using Elk code to check the Fermi surface topology.The results show that there exist four Fermi surfaces in CaIr_2,including two electron-type and two hole-type surfaces.The optical response properties of CaIr_2 have been calculated in the dipole-transition approximations combined with including intra-band Drude-like terms.In the optical spectrum σ(ω) shows that the crossover from intraband to inter-band absorption occur near 1.45 eV.Further analysis on the electron energy loss spectra(EELS) matches the conclusion from that of optical conductivity σ(ω).     

Effect on the magnetic properties of small substitutions of iron and copper for nickel in YNi3 and Y2Ni7 intermetallics

Measurements of magnetization in static fields up to 60 kOe and magnetic susceptibility in weak ac fields of the Y(Ni_1−x M_x)₃ and Y₂(Ni_1−x M_x)₇ intermetallics (M=Fe and Cu, x _max=0.2), as well of the specific heat of these systems for some compositions are reported. It was found that these intermetallics are ferromagnetic at low temperature, and that their spontaneous magnetizations M _s at 4.2 K and Curie temperatures T _C decrease monotonically with increasing copper concentration. The magnetic susceptibility of the Y(Ni_1−x Fe_x)₃ system with 0.06≲x≲0.2 was observed to decrease rapidly with the temperature lowered below a characteristic temperature T _s. One of possible reasons for such an anomaly is shown to be the onset in this concentration region of the reentrant spin-glass state at low temperatures. The results obtained demonstrate that the tight-binding d-band model fails to explain the evolution of the magnetic properties of YNi₃ and Y₂Ni₇ in the case of small substitutions of iron and copper for nickel. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 1828–1830 (October 1997)     

Theoretical investigation on first-principles electronic and thermal properties of some CdRE intermetallics

Ab initio calculation on B2-cadmium rare earth (RE), CdRE (RE=La, Ce and Pr) intermetallics has been performed at T=0 K with respect to their structural, electronic and thermal properties. The structural and electronic properties are derived using self-consistent tight binding linear muffin tin orbital method at ambient and at high pressure. Other properties like lattice parameter, bulk modulus, density of states, electronic specific heat coefficient, cohesive energy, heat of formation, Debye temperature and Grüneisen constant for CdRE are also estimated. The RE-f effect can be seen in CdPr in terms of variation in the density of states and opens a possibility of structural instability. A pressure induced variation of Debye temperature is also presented for three cadmium rare earth intermetallics.     

Effect of 3d transition metal substitution on microstructure and microwave absorption properties of FeSiB nanocrystalline flakes

Effect of 3d transition metal substitution (Co and Ni) is studied on microstructure and absorption properties of FeSiB flakes in GHz. Fe_78−xM_xSi₉B₁₃ (M=Co or Ni, x=0, 5, 10 and 15) nanocrystalline flakes with nanocrystal/amorphous two-phase structure were prepared by ball milling. Substitution decreases the nanocrystal size and affects microwave behavior both compositionally and structurally according to the substitution mechanism. Compositional influence is contributing to the change of intrinsic magnetization parameters; structural influence works on exchange coupling. Absorption band of Fe₇₈Si₉B₁₃ flakes shifts towards lower frequency by the substitution, and Fe₆₃Co₁₅Si₉B₁₃ absorber shows promising absorption at C-band.     

Effect of some additions on the sinterability and magnetic properties of barium hexaferrite

The effect of additions on the densification of previously prepared stoichiometric barium hexaferrite, during the initial and intermediate stages of sintering, as well as on the coercivity and remanence were studied. The effect of non-stoichiometry, SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Cr₂O₃, TiO₂, SnO₂, MnO₂, MgO, NiO and Bi₂O₃ is included.While SiO₂ and Bi₂O₃ form liquid phases that increase the density, Al₂O₃, Cr₂O₃ and MnO₂ form a limited solid solution and are generally beneficial when added in the proper amounts. At 1300 SiO₂ up to 0.55% and Al₂O₃ up to 1% gave better magnetic properties. On the other hand addition of TiO₂, MgO, NiO or SnO₂ has a deleterious effect.     

Effect of structural phase transitions on the magnetic properties of sodium superoxide

The dramatic temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility and Electron Spin Resonance in sodium superoxides between 77 and 300 K is attributed to various structural phase transitions. One of our important observations is a switchover from a weak ferromagnetically coupled 3-dimensional system to a strong antiferromagnetically coupled 1-dimensional system with decreasing temperature. There is no magnetic ordering.     

Effect of hydrogen doping on the magnetic properties of Gd2CuO4

We report the results of ac-susceptibility and dc-magnetization measurements for H_yGd₂CuO₄ (0y0.54). It is shown thatH doping lowers the weak ferromagnetic component in the material. The distinct hysteresis loops observed atT=77 K for both non- and hydrogenated samples change its shape withy. The magnetic ordering temperatures T _N ^Cu and T _N ^Gd , as determined from the temperature dependencies of ac-susceptibility, remain unchanged with sample's hydrogenation. This result seems to indicate that extra electrons are not doped onto the Cu-O planes of Gd₂CuO₄. The frequency dependencies ofx(, T) andx(, T) for bothy=0 andy=0.15 samples are analysed., The maximums ofx andx found at about 200K are considered in terms of susceptibility dependence on the spin-lattice relaxation time (). The anomalies in ac-susceptibility found recently in Gd₂CuO₄ atT _a=8 K andT _b=9.5 K decrease significantly withy. Results are discussed in the context of available data on 214T-type compounds.     

Effect of magnetic properties of soft magnetic phase on the energy product of an exchange-spring magnet

Research on exchange-spring magnets has focused on the microstructures of the materials.However,research has seldom been concerned with the effect of magnetic properties of soft magnetic phase on the energy product of an exchangespring magnet.In this paper,a simple one-dimensional numerical simulation is used to investigate this effect in a Nd2Fe14Bbased exchange-spring magnet.The results reveal that the larger the anisotropy constant,the stronger the exchange coupling,and the higher the magnetization of the soft magnetic4 phase,the larger the energy product of an exchange-spring magnet.This provides evidence for choosing a soft magnetic phase in an exchange-spring magnet.     

Effect of Ba and Ho co-doping on crystal structure,phase transformation,magnetic properties and dielectric properties of BiFeO3

Multiferroics having composition Bi_0.80-xBa_0.20Ho_xFeO₃ (BBFO, BBHFO5, BBHFO10, BBHFO15 and BBHFO20 for x?=?0.0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20 respectively) were synthesized by method of solid state reaction. The crystal structure has been studied using X-ray diffraction technique. The X-ray patterns show enormous transform in crystal structure at concentration x?=?0.20. The Rietveld refinement of XRD patterns indicates that at concentration x?=?0.0 sample have rhombohedral structure with R3c space group while for the concentration x?=?0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20, the mixed phase including rhombohedral R3c and triclinic P1 space groups were obtained with best fitting. This phase transformation in crystal structure is observed due to mismatching of ionic radii of doped ions and parent ions. Magnetic properties of all samples were carried out by using vibrating sample magnetometry. M-H hysteresis loops shows that with doping of Ba and Ho antiferromagnetic BiFeO₃ (BFO) transforms into ferromagnetic. The dielectric and ferroelectric measurements were carried out which shows that dielectric constant, dielectric loss and ferroelectric properties are enhanced with co-doping of Ho in comparison of the pristine BFO due to structure deformation and decrease in oxygen vacancies with higher concentration of Ho. Significant improvement has been observed in dielectric constant and remnant magnetization values with increasing content of Ho and decrease in the dielectric loss.     

The influence of 3d transition metal substitution on the magnetic properties of MnGaGe

A study has been made of the effect of 3d transition element substitution on the magnetic moment and Curie temperature of MnGaGe. Substitution of 3d elements with atomic number less than Mn (i.e. Ti, V, or Cr) cause relatively small changes in magnetic properties, whereas substitution of Fe, Co, Ni and Cu cause a large reduction in moment and Curie temperature, e.g. substitution of 5 at.% Fe for Mn causes the moment to decrease by 30 per cent. The moment and ferromagnetism of MnGaGe are described in terms of a band model involving both strongly correlated and intinerant 3d electrons. The effect of 3d element substitution may be qualitatively understood in terms of this model.