Structural and magnetic properties of NdCo12-xFexB6 ferromagnetic compounds

The effects of Fe substitution on the structural and magnetic properties of NdCo12-xFexB6 (0 ≤ x ≤ 2.3) series of compounds have been investigated. Fe for Co substitution in NdCo12-xFexB6 leads to an anisotropic expansion of the unit cell: the initial growth along the c-axis is more rapid than that in the basal-plane. All of the compounds are ferromagnets and exhibit a spin reorientation transition. The Curie temperature, TC, shows a monotonic decrease with increasing Fe concentration from 155 K to 115 K as x increases from 0 to 2.3. A decrease of the spontaneous magnetization, MS, is found to occur upon Fe for Co substitution.