| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1627052 | Journal of Alloys and Compounds | 2007 | 6 Pages |
The crystal structure and magnetic properties of the PrCo4.5Si0.5 compound have been investigated. PrCo4.5Si0.5 is found to be ferromagnetic in the whole ordered region with a CaCu5 crystal structure type. The Si for Co substitution induces an important reduction of the Curie temperature (TC), TC that reaches 645(2) K. At 4 K, the saturation magnetization is 8.0 μB/f.u. Powder neutron diffraction data show that the Co atoms from non-equivalent atomic sites (2c, 3g) are exhibiting a similar magnetic behavior. The magnitude of the atomic magnetic moments diminishes with increasing temperature. At low temperatures, the magnetic moments are tilted away from the c-axis. As the temperature increases the magnetic moments become parallel to it. This spin reorientation is observed between 50 and 90 K in PrCo4.5Si0.5. At 300 K the atomic magnetic moments are μCo2c=1.19(3)μB, μCo3g=0.98(3)μB, μPr = 0.59(8)μB being aligned along the c-axis. The Si atoms are localized exclusively at the 3g site, thus favoring an enhancement of the uniaxial anisotropy.
