No abstract

Keywords:AlFe 2 B 2 Ternary compounds Ferromagnet Mossbauer effect spectroscopy Magnetic properties of intermetallic a b s t r a c t Based on extensive Mossbauer effect (ME) and magnetization measurements, the orthorhombic AlFe 2 B 2 was characterized as a ferromagnet (FM) because this character is evident as an onset of a FM transition at T c ¼ 320 K and characteristic magnetizations isotherms below T c . At liquid helium temperatures, the magnetization saturates to m sat % 1m B per Fe atom; a value which is half the one reported for the iron metal indicating a relatively more filled 3d band. The ME analysis revealed a hyperfine field H(0) of 88(2) kOe, an isomer shift (relative to Fe) of 0.50(2) mm/s, and a quadrupole parameter of 0.02 mm/s: all parameters extrapolated to zero Kelvin. The itinerant character of the magnetic moment will be discussed.

No abstract

Based on magnetization, specific heat, magnetostriction and neutron-diffraction studies on single-crystal TbCo(2)B(2)C, it is found out that the paramagnetic properties, down to liquid nitrogen temperatures, are well described by a Curie-Weiss behavior of the Tb(3+) moments. Furthermore, below T(c) = 6.3 K, the Tb sublattice undergoes a ferromagnetic (FM) phase transition with the easy axis being along the (100) direction and, concomitantly, the unit cell undergoes a tetragonal-to-orthorhombic distortion. The manifestation of an FM state in TbCo(2)B(2)C is unique among all other isomorphous borocarbides, in particular TbNi(2)B(2)C (T(N) = 15 K, incommensurate modulated magnetic state) even though the Tb ions in both isomorphs have almost the same crystalline electric field properties. The difference among the magnetic modes of these Tb-based isomorphs is attributed to a difference in their exchange couplings which are in turn caused by a variation in their lattice parameters and in the position of their Fermi levels.