Structural and magnetic properties of Mn50Fe50−xSnx (x=10, 15 and 20) alloys

•Mn50Fe50-xSnx alloys were studied over a limited concentration range.•Lower Sn alloys behaved similar to ß-Mn alloys both structurally and magnetically.•Higher Sn alloys showed magnetic transitions similar to Mn3Sn and Fe3Sn.•Resistivity showed bad metallic behavior with negetive temperature coefficient.

In this work we report measurements and comparisons of the structural, magnetic and transport properties of a series of Mn50Fe50−xSnx alloys (x=10, 15 and 20). We found that while the lower Sn composition sample stabilized in β-Mn-type crystallographic phase, the higher Sn composition alloys contained both β-Mn-type as well as Mn3Sn-type hexagonal DO19 phases. Through d.c. and a.c. magnetic property measurements we have established the existence of a ferromagnetic transition near room temperature followed by a spin reorientation at lower temperature in the Mn3Sn-type crystallographic phase of the alloys. Our resistivity study also revealed an interesting behavior with negative temperature coefficient (TCR) in these alloys.