A Structural, Magnetic and Mössbauer Spectral Study of the Magnetocaloric Mn₁.₁Fe₀.₉P₁₋ₓGeₓ Compounds

Author

M. T. Sougrati
Raphäel P. Hermann
Fernande Grandjean, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
Gary J. Long, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
Ekkehard H. Brück
OjiedTrung Nguyen T. Tegus
K. H. J. Buschow

Abstract

The structural, magnetic and Mössbauer spectral properties of the magnetocaloric Mn_1.1Fe_0.9P_1-xGe_x compounds, with 0.191.1Fe_0.9P_0.74Ge_0.26. The temperature dependence of the magnetization reveals a ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition with a Curie temperature between approximately 250 and 330 K and hysteresis width of 10 to 4 K, for 0.191.1Fe_0.9P_0.78Ge_0.22 shows the largest isothermal entropy change of approximately 10 J/(kgKT) at 290 K. The Mössbauer spectra have been analysed with a binomial distribution of hyperfine fields correlated with a change in isomer shift and quadrupole shift, a distribution that results from the distribution of phosphorus and germanium among the near neighbours of the iron. The coexistence of paramagnetic and magnetically ordered phases in ranges of temperature of up to 50 K around the Curie temperature is observed in the Mössbauer spectra and is associated with the first-order character of the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition. The temperature dependence of the weighted average hyperfine field is well fitted within the magnetostrictive model of Bean and Rodbell. Good fits of the Mössbauer spectra could only be achieved by introducing a difference between the isomer shifts in the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases, a difference that is related to the magnetostriction and electronic structure change.

Recommended Citation

M. T. Sougrati et al., "A Structural, Magnetic and Mössbauer Spectral Study of the Magnetocaloric Mn₁.₁Fe₀.₉P₁₋ₓGeₓ Compounds," Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, vol. 20, no. 47, Institute of Physics (IOP): Hybrid Open Access, Nov 2008.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984/20/47/475206

Department(s)

Chemistry

Keywords and Phrases

Curie Temperature; Electronic Structure; Ferromagnetic Materials; Ferromagnetism; Germanium; Isomers; Magnetic Field Effects; Magnetostriction; Magnetostrictive Devices; Manganese; Manganese Compounds; Molybdenum; Paramagnetic Materials; Phosphorus; Spectroscopic Analysis; Temperature Distribution; Binomial Distributions; Cell Volumes; Ferromagnetic Phasis; First Orders; Hyperfine Fields; Isomer Shifts; Isothermal Entropy Changes; Magnetically Ordered Phasis; Magnetocaloric; Paramagnetic Transitions; Quadrupole; Spectral Properties; Spectral Studies; Temperature Dependences; Weighted Averages; Magnetic Materials

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0953-8984

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2008 Institute of Physics (IOP): Hybrid Open Access, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Nov 2008