• Fangwei Wang
  • Guang Jun Wang
  • Feng Xia Hu
  • A. Kurbakov
  • Bao Gen Shen
  • Zhao Hua Cheng

Crystallographic and magnetic structures of the cubic NaZn13-type intermetallic compound LaFe11.4Si1.6 have been studied by means of powder neutron diffraction. Rietveld analysis indicates that Si atoms substitute for Fe atoms randomly on two different Fe sites. All spins in the unit cell are aligned ferromagnetically with the FeI (8b) moment smaller than the FeII (96i) one. The long-range ferromagnetic ordering induces a drastic expansion of the lattice and the coexistence of the large and small volume phases near the Curie temperature. Even in the ferromagnetic state, the lattice expansion still correlates strongly with the spontaneous magnetic moment, marked by a large positive magnetovolume coupling constant kC = 1.14 × 10-8 cm6 emu-2. From the temperature dependence of Fe-Fe bond lengths, we suggest that the Fe-Fe exchange interaction between the clusters (each formed by a central FeI atom and 12 surrounding FeII atoms) plays an important role in the magnetic properties of La(Fe1-xAl/Six)13, as does that within the clusters.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5269-5278
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Physics Condensed Matter
Volume15
Issue number30
DOIs
StatePublished - 6 Aug 2003
Externally publishedYes

    Scopus subject areas

  • Materials Science(all)
  • Condensed Matter Physics

ID: 97907017