Influence of substitution and milling on structural and magnetic properties of selected Sm(Ni1-xCox)3 compounds

Abstract

Rare earth and transition metals intermetallic compounds such as alloys were widely studied in previous years because of interesting 3d-4f effects and a possibility of application in different branches of industry and technique [1,2]. Generally, the magnetic properties of rare earth and transition metals depend on crystal structure because the atoms of transition elements have an exposed 3d shell and are susceptible on their nearest surrounding. In recent years, nanocrystalline RE/3d alloys have attracted an increasing interest because of their enhanced magnetic parameters while compared to their bulk counterparts [3,4,5]. As an example, one can mention a high coercivity of 33 kOe for the nanocrystalline SmCo3 compound. In this paper, we focus on structural and magnetic changes in a SmNi3compound upon the Ni/Co substitution and pulverization to a size of approximately 100 nm[…]