The effect of substitution of Lu for Ho on some physical properties of LuxHo1−xNi2 solid solutions

X-ray diffraction analysis performed at room temperature was used to study the structure of the LuxHo1−xNi2 solid solutions and parent binary compounds. It was found the formation of the C15-type Laves-phase superstructure (space group F4¯3m). Magnetic measurements showed that the samples with x⩽0.8 are ferromagnets with relatively low (below 20 K) Curie temperatures TC. At high temperatures, all studied solid solutions are Curie-Weiss paramagnets. Temperature dependences of the electrical resistivity are typical of alloys exhibiting the metallic conductivity. The Debye temperature, phonon and conduction-electron contributions as well as magnetic part of the heat capacity have been determined from heat capacity measurements. The magnetocaloric effect was estimated from measurements performed in a low magnetic field of 0.42 T.