Synthesis, crystal structure, and magnetic properties of quaternary PrCo2.5FeAl1.5 alloy
摘要
The PrCo2.5FeAl1.5 quaternary alloy was synthesized from stoichiometric amounts of aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), and praseodymium (Pr) using vacuum arc furnace melting followed by high-temperature annealing. Powder X-ray diffraction coupled with Rietveld refinement was used to determine its crystal structure. The results reveal that PrCo2.5FeAl1.5 is isostructural with NdCo3.5Al1.5 (CaCu5-type structure, space group P6/mmm (No. 191)), with lattice parameters of a = 5.1548(5) Å and c = 4.0783(4) Å. The magnetic properties of PrCo2.5FeAl1.5 were measured using a Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS). The temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility data measured under a 50 Oe magnetic field indicate ferrimagnetic behavior below the Curie temperature Tc = 366.7 K. In addition, isothermal magnetization curves and magnetic hysteresis loops indicate that the saturation magnetization MS, remnant magnetization Mr, and coercivity Hc at 2 K are 5.76 μB/f.u., 2.98 μB/f.u. and 0.19 T, respectively. All three magnetic parameters decrease with increasing temperature. Furthermore, PrCo2.5FeAl1.5 exhibits low coercivity and a hysteresis loss Wh of 91.79 J/m3 at room temperature.