Ferromagnetism in Laves-phase WFe2 nanoparticles

M A Koten,P Manchanda,R Skomski,D J Sellmyer,J E Shield,B Balamurugan

doi:10.1063/1.4926610

Abstract

While rare-earth based Laves phases are known to exhibit large magnetostriction, the magnetic properties of some binary Laves phases containing transition metals alone are not well known. This is because many of these compounds contain refractory elements that complicate melt processing due to high melting temperatures and extensive phase separation. Here, phase-pure WFe2 nanoclusters, with the hexagonal C14 Laves structure, were deposited via inert gas condensation, allowing for the first known measurement of ferromagnetism in this phase, with MS of 26.4 emu/g (346 emu/cm3) and a KU of 286 kerg/cm3, at 10 K, and a TC of 550 K.

Highlights

While rare-earth based Laves phases are known to exhibit large magnetostriction, the magnetic properties of some binary Laves phases containing transition metals alone are not well known
Atoms, and, In addition to exhibiting a variety of magnetic characteristics, some Laves phases are known superconductors,[3] while others have served as materials for metal-organic-frameworks[4] and rechargeable batteries.[5,6]
In the 1980s some investigations were made into TFe2 Laves phases, where “T” represents another transition metal

Summary

Introduction

While rare-earth based Laves phases are known to exhibit large magnetostriction, the magnetic properties of some binary Laves phases containing transition metals alone are not well known. Phase-pure WFe2 nanoclusters, with the hexagonal C14 Laves structure, were deposited via inert gas condensation, allowing for the first known measurement of ferromagnetism in this phase, with MS of 26.4 emu/g (346 emu/cm3) and a KU of 286 kerg/cm[3], at 10 K, and a TC of 550 K.

Results

Conclusion