Influence of Ge-doping on the structural and magnetic properties of Nd 6Fe13Pd1−xGex compounds

Abstract

In this paper, we report the structural, magnetic, and magnetocaloric properties of Ge-doped [Formula: see text] (x = 0.1, 0.2) compounds. Rietveld refinement of X-ray powder diffraction shows that all the investigated samples are single phase and crystallize in a tetragonal [Formula: see text]-type structure with the space group [Formula: see text]/mcm. The magnetic properties of the intermetallic [Formula: see text] compounds have been investigated by the physical property measurement system (PPMS). The magnetic transition temperatures [Formula: see text] from the ferromagnetic (FM) to the antiferromagnetic (AFM) states are determined to be 123 and 111 K for x = 0.1, 0.2, respectively, which shifted to lower temperatures compared with the [Formula: see text] compound. For a field change of 5 T, the peak values of [Formula: see text] for the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] compounds are estimated to be 3.73 and [Formula: see text] with the corresponding refrigeration capability (RC) values of 271.7 and [Formula: see text], respectively.