Magnetic and structural properties of metamagnetic MnCo0.92Fe0.08Ge compound

Abstract

The magnetic and structural properties of ferromagnetic MnCo0.92Fe0.08Ge were investigated by magnetization and X-ray powder diffraction measurements in magnetic fields up to 5 T. The compound showed first-order transition between the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic state with a thermal hysteresis of approximately 24 K, which was accompanied by the martensitic transformation from the hexagonal Ni2In-type structure to the orthorhombic TiNiSi-type structure in the vicinity of 275 K. The cell volume expanded by 4.1% during the martensitic transformation. The magnetic moment of MnCo0.92Fe0.08Ge was estimated to be 111Am2 kg-1 (3.7μB/f.u.) at 10 K. The compound showed both metamagnetic transition and magnetic field-induced martensitic transformation.