Magnetic and structural characterization of Nd5Fe17

Abstract

A new stable compound in the Nd–Fe system has been identified as Nd5Fe17. The crystal structure belongs to the hexagonal space group P63/mcm, with a=2.0214(8) nm and c=1.2329(8) nm, and with 12 formula units per unit cell. This compound is a ferromagnet with Tc = 503 K and magnetization 162 emu/g at 4.2 K. Mössbauer spectra have been measured and fitted with five Fe sites, yielding an average Beff=26.5 T at room temperature, from which an average Fe moment of 1.83 Bohr magnetons is deduced. X-ray powder diagrams from magnetically aligned samples suggest basal anisotropy.