Ferromagnetism in Laves-phase WFe₂ nanoparticles

Authors

Mark A. Koten, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Priyanka Manchanda, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Balamurugan Balamurugan, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Ralph A. Skomski, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
David J. Sellmyer, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jeffrey E. Shield, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

2015

Citation

APL MATERIALS 3, 076101 (2015)

Comments

Copyright 2015 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Used by permission.

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 M_S of 26.4 emu/g (346 emu/cm³) and a KU of 286 kerg/cm³, at 10 K, and a T_C of 550 K.