Pronounced effects of high-magnetic-field solidification on metamagnetic transition in tetragonal Cu2Sb-type Mn1.8Cu0.2Sb alloy

The tetragonal Cu2Sb-type Mn1.8Cu0.2Sb alloy was prepared by solidification under zero field and high magnetic field of 12 T. No thermal hysteresis was observed. High-magnetic-field (HMF) solidification led into c-axis texture in Mn1.8Cu0.2Sb alloy. Moreover, the severity of metamagnetic transformation in a Mn1.8Cu0.2Sb alloy was steepened and the resultant magnetic entropy change was enhanced. The exchange bias at low temperature was observed. Our work demonstrated the pronounced influences of HMF solidification on the crystallographic orientation, metamagnetic phase transformation and the magnetic exchange couplings.