Crystal structures, phase relationships, and magnetic phase transitions of R_5M_4 compounds (R = rare earths, M = Si, Ge)

Our recent studies of the crystal structures, phase transitions, and magnetic properties of intermetallic compounds RsM4 （R = rare earths; M = Si, Ge） are reviewed briefly. First, crystal structures, phase relationships, and magnetic prop- erties of several 5：4 compounds, including Nd5 Si4-xGex, Pr5 Si4_xGex, Gds-xLaxGe4, La5 Si4, and Gd5 Sn4, are presented. In particular, the canted spin structures as well as the magnetic phase transitions in PrsSi2Ge2 and PrsGe4 investigated by neutron powder diffractions and small-angle neutron scattering are reviewed. Second, the crystal structures and magnetic properties of the most studied compounds Gds（Si,Ge）4 are summarized. The focus is on the parent compound GdsGe4, which is an amazing material exhibiting magnetic anisotropy, angular dependent spin-flop transition, metastable magnetic response, Griffiths-like phase, thermal effect under pulsed fields, antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic resonances, pro- nounced effects of impurities, and high-field induced magnetic transitions.

31p NMR study of magnetic phase transitions of MnP single crystal under 2 GPa pressure

Superconductivity on the border of the long-range magnetic order has been discovered in Mn P under high pressures. In order to investigate the nature of the magnetic properties adjacent to the superconducting state, we performed zero-field 31 P NMR for Mn P single crystal under ambient and hydrostatic pressure of 2 GPa, respectively. Radio frequency power level was used to determine whether NMR signal originates from a helical state or not. When 2 GPa pressure was applied, the signal from helical state exists even above 160 K, while that from the ferromagnetic phase was not observed. Our NMR results indicate that the magnetic phase which is adjacent to the superconducting state is in a helical magnetic structure.

Magnetic and electronic properties of La-doped hexagonal 4H-SrMnO_(3)

As typical strongly correlated electronic materials, manganites show rich magnetic phase diagrams and electronic structures depending on the doped carrier density. Most previous relevant studies of doped manganites rely on the cubic/orthorhombic structures, while the hexagonal structure is much less studied. Here first-principles calculations are employed to investigate the magnetic and electronic structures of La-doped 4H-SrMnO_(3). By systematically analyzing the two kinds of La-doped positions, our calculations predict that the doped electron with lattice distortion would prefer to form polarons, which contribute to the local magnetic phase transition, nonzero net magnetization, and semiconducting behavior. In addition, the energy gap decreases gradually with increasing doping concentration, indicating a tendency of insulator–metal transition.

Chemical ordering and magnetic phase transitions in multiferroic BiFeO_(3)-AFe_(1/2)Sb_(1/2)O_(3)(A-Pb,Sr)solid solutions fabricated by a high-pressure

synthesisCeramic samples of BiFeO_(3)-based perovskite solid solutions with the highly ordered complex perovskites PbFe_(1/2)Sb_(1/2)O_(3)(PFS)and SrFe_(1/2)Sb_(1/2)O_(3)(SFS)were obtained using high-pressure synthesis at 4-6 GPa.Mössbauer studies revealed that BiFeO_(3)-SFS compositions are characterized by a larger compositional inhomogeneity as compared to BiFeO_(3)-PFS ones.In line with this result,concentration dependence of the magnetic phase transition temperature TN for BiFeO_(3)-SFS compositions is close to the TN(x)dependence for BiFeO_(3)solid solution with disordered perovskite PbFe_(1/2)Nb_(1/2)O_(3)(PFN).In contrast to this TN(x)dependence for BiFeO_(3)-PFS compositions nicely follows the theoretical TN(x)dependence calculated for the case of the ordered distribution of Fe3+and non-magnetic Sb^(5)+ions in the lattice(chemical ordering).

Pressure induced magnetic and semiconductor–metal phase transitions in Cr_2MoO_6

We investigate magnetic ordering and electronic structures of Cr2MoO6under hydrostatic pressure. To overcome the band gap problem, the modified Becke and Johnson exchange potential is used to investigate the electronic structures of Cr2MoO6. The insulating nature at the experimental crystal structure is produced, with a band gap of 1.04 eV, and the magnetic moment of the Cr atom is 2.50 μB, compared to an experimental value of about 2.47 μB. The calculated results show that an antiferromagnetic inter-bilayer coupling–ferromagnetic intra-bilayer coupling to a ferromagnetic inter-bilayer coupling–antiferromagnetic intra-bilayer coupling phase transition is produced with the pressure increasing. The magnetic phase transition is simultaneously accompanied by a semiconductor–metal phase transition. The magnetic phase transition can be explained by the Mo–O hybridization strength, and ferromagnetic coupling between two Cr atoms can be understood by empty Mo-d bands perturbing the nearest O-p orbital.

Mossbauer and magnetization studies of magnetic phase transitions in 0.5BiFeO_(3)-0.5NaNbO_(3)and 0.5LaFeO_(3)-0.5NaNbO_(3)solid solutions

0.5AFeO_(3)-0.5NaNbO_(3)(A=Bi,La)solid solution compositions were prepared using a solid phase reaction route from high-purity starting oxides.Mossbauer studies have shown that while for 0.5BiFeO_(3)-0.5NaNbO_(3)the magnetic phase transition temperature T_(M) value is about 150 K,for 0.5LaFeO_(3)-0.5NaNbO_(3),it is only≈25 K.This dramatic difference in T_(M) values seems to be due to additional contribution of the magnetic superexchange between Fe^(3+)ions via the empty 6p-states of Bi^(3+)ions to the overall superexchange.

Magnetic entropy change and magnetic phase transition of LaFe11.4Al1.6Cx （x=0-0.8） compounds

The unit cell volume and phase transition temperature of LaFe11.4Al1.6Cx compounds have been studied. The magnetic entropy change, refrigerant capacity and the type of magnetic phase transition are investigated in detail for LaFe11.4Al1.6Cx with x=0.1, All the LaFe11.4Al1.6Cx （x=0-0.8） compounds have the cubic NaZn13-type structure. The addition of carbon atoms brings about a considerable increase in the lattice parameter. The bulk expansion results in the change of phase transition temperature （Tc）, Tc increases from 187K to 269 K with x varying from 0.1 to 0.8, Meanwhile an increase in the lattice parameter can also cause a change of the magnetic ground state from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic. Large magnetic entropy change IASI is found over a large temperature range around Tc and the refrigerant capacity is about 322J/kg for LaFe11.4Al1.6C0.1. The magnetic phase transition belongs in weakly first-order one for x=0.1.

Tunable Electronic and Magnetic Properties from Structure Phase Transition of Layered Vanadium Diselenide

The atomic geometry, structure stability, electronic and magnetic properties of VSe2 were systematically investigated based on the density functional theory（DFT）. Varying from 3D to 2D four VSe2 structures, bulk 2H-VSe2 and 1T-VSe2, monolayer H-VSe2 and T-VSe2 are all demonstrated as thermodynamically stable by lattice dynamic calculations. More interestingly, the phase transition temperature is dramatically different due to the lattice size. Finally, owing to different crystal structures, H-VSe2 is semimetallic whereas T-VSe2 is totally metallic and also they have different magnetic moments. Our main argument is that being exfoliated from bulk to monolayer, 2H-VSe2 transforms to T-VSe2, accompanied by both semimetallic-metallic transition and dramatic magnetic moment variation. Our calculations provide a novel structure phase transition and an efficient way to modulate the electronic structure and magnetic moment of layered VSe2, which suggests potential applications as high-performance functional nanomaterial.

Deconfinement Phase Transition with External Magnetic Field in the Friedberg-Lee Model

The deconfinement phase transition with external magnetic field is investigated in the Friedberg-Lee model. We expand the potentiM around the two locM minima of the first-order deconfinement phase transition and extract the ground state of the system in the frame of functional renormalization group. By solving the flow equations we find that the magnetic field displays a catalysis effect and it becomes more difficult to break through the confinement.

Influence of high-pressure heat treatment on magnetocaloric effects and magnetic phase transition in single crystal Gd_(3)Ga_5O_(12)

The magnetic properties and magnetic phase transition critical behavior of Gd_(3)Ga_5O_(12)single crystals subjected to high-pressure heat treatment were investigated.The results show that high-pressure heat treatment reduces the Curie temperature and magnetization of the sample.Under a magnetic field change of 5 T,the maximum isothermal magnetic entropy of the sample is approximately 19.73 J/(kg·K).High-pressure heat treatment increases the phase transition temperature range and leads to an increase in the magnetic refrigeration power.Both Gd_(3)Ga_(5)O_(12)single crystals and the high-pressure heat-treated sample undergo a second-order phase transition.The critical behavior of the samples aligns with the mean field model acquired via critical model fitting.This indicates that the samples exhibit long-range exchange interactions in the system near the Curie temperature.Thus,this material can be used as a magnetic refrigerant for low-temperature applications.

Review of magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect in the intermetallic compounds of rare earth with low boiling point metals

The magnetocaloric effect （MCE） in many rare earth （RE） based intermetallic compounds has been extensively in- vestigated during the last two decades, not only due to their potential applications for magnetic refrigeration but also for better understanding of the fundamental problems of the materials. This paper reviews our recent progress on studying the magnetic properties and MCE in some binary or ternary intermetallic compounds of RE with low boiling point metal（s） （Zn, Mg, and Cd）. Some of them exhibit promising MCE properties, which make them attractive for low temperature magnetic refrigeration. Characteristics of the magnetic transition, origin of large MCE, as well as the potential application of these compounds are thoroughly discussed. Additionally, a brief review of the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties in the quaternary rare earth nickel boroncarbides RENi2B2C superconductors is also presented.

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects in NaZn_(13)-type La(Fe,Al)(13)-based compounds

In this article, our recent progress concerning the effects of atomic substitution, magnetic field, and temperature on the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of the LaFe13-xAlx compounds are reviewed. With an increase of the aluminum content, the compounds exhibit successively an antiferromagnetic （AFM） state, a ferromagnetic （FM） state, and a mictomagnetic state. Furthermore, the AFM coupling of LaFe13 -xAlx can be converted to an FM one by substituting Si for A1, Co for Fe, and magnetic rare-earth R for La, or introducing interstitial C or H atoms. However, low doping levels lead to FM clusters embedded in an AFM matrix, and the resultant compounds can undergo, under appropriate applied fields, first an AFM-FM and then an FM-AFM phase transition while heated, with significant magnetic relaxation in the vicinity of the transition temperature. The Curie temperature of LaFe13-xAlx can be shifted to room temperature by choosing appropriate contents of Co, C, or H, and a strong magnetocaloric effect can be obtained around the transition temperature. For example, for the LaFel 1.5All.5Co.2Hl.o compound, the maximal entropy change reaches 13.8 J.kg-1.K-1 for a field change of 0-5 T, occurring around room temperature. It is 42% higher than that of Gd, and therefore, this compound is a promising room-temperature magnetic refrigerant.

Experimental study on freezing of liquids under static magnetic field

Freezing processes of several liquids under static magnetic field(SMF) less than 50 mT were investigated. Central temperature of liquid samples held in glass test tubes immersed in a liquid bath was measured and collected. Nucleation temperature and phase transition time were obtained from freezing curves. Normality tests were performed for nucleation temperature of these liquids with/without magnetic field and normality distributions were justified. Analysis of variances was carried out for nucleation temperature of these liquids with magnetic field flux density as the influencing factor. Results showed that no significant difference was found for deionized water with or without SMF. However, differences exist in 0.9% NaCl solution and 5% ethylene glycol solution with and without SMF. Nucleation temperature of 0.9% NaCl with SMF is lower than that without SMF, while its phase transition time is shorter than that without SMF. Nucleation temperature of 5% ethylene glycol with SMF is higher than that without SMF, while its phase transition time is not modified with SMF.

Phase structure and magnetocaloric effect of (Tb_(1–x)Dy_x)Co_2 alloys

Phase structure and magnetocaloric effect of （Tb1-xDyx）Co2 alloys with x=0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 were investigated using X-ray diffraction analysis, differential thermal analysis, and magnetization measurement. The samples were single phase with cubic MgCu2- type structure; with the increase of Dy content, Tc decreased from 240 K （TbCo2） to 130 K （DyCo2）, and the maximum magnetic entropy change ｜ △SM,max｜ increased from 3.133 to 8.176 J/kg-K under low magnetic field of 0-2 T. The Arrott plot and the change of ｜△SM,max｜ showed that magnetic phase transition from second order to first order occured with the increase of Dy content between x=-0.6 and 0.8.

The electric and magnetic properties of epitaxially grown A0.5-xLaxSr0.5MnO3 （A=Pr, Nd） thin film

The epitaxial （single crystal-like） Pr0.4La0.1Sr0.5MnO3 （PLSMO） and Nd0.35La0.15Sr0.5MnO3 （NLSMO） thin films are prepared and characterized, and the electric and magnetic properties are examined. We find that both PLSMO and NLSMO have their own optimum deposition temperature （To） in their growing into epitaxial thin films. When the deposition temperature is higher than To, a c-axis oriented but polycrystalline thin film grows; when the deposition temperature is lower than To, the thin film tends to be a-axis oriented and also polycrystalline. The most important point is that for the epitaxial PLSMO and NLSMO thin films the electronic phase transitions are closely consistent with the magnetic phase transitions, i.e. an antiferromagnetic phase corresponds to an insulating state, a ferromagnetic phase corresponds to a metallic state and a paramagnetic phase corresponds to a semiconducting state, while for the polycrystalline thin films the electronic phase transitions are always not consistent with the magnetic transitions.

CeAu_(2)In_(4):A candidate of quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnetic Kondo lattice

Needle-like single crystals of CeAu_(2)In_(4)have been grown from In flux and characterized as a new candidate of quasi-one-dimensional Kondo lattice compound by crystallographic,magnetic,transport,and specific-heat measurements down to very low temperatures.We observe an antiferromagnetic transition at T_(N)≈0.9 K,a highly non-mean-field profile of the corresponding peak in specific heat,and a large Sommerfeld coefficientγ=369 mJ·mol^(-1)·K^(-2).The Kondo temperature T_(K)is estimated to be 1.1 K,being low and comparable to TN.While Fermi liquid behavior is observed deep into the magnetically ordered phase,the Kadowaki-Woods ratio is much reduced relative to the expected value for Ce compounds with Kramers doublet ground state.Markedly,this feature shares striking similarities to that of the prototypical quasi-one-dimensional compounds YbNi_(4)P_(2) and CeRh_(6)Ge_(4) with tunable ferromagnetic quantum critical point.Given the shortest Ce-Ce distance along the needle direction,CeAu_(2)In_(4)appears to be an interesting model system for exploring antiferromagnetic quantum critical behaviors in a quasi-one-dimensional Kondo lattice with enhanced quantum fluctuations.

Magnetic Field Induced Entropy Change for La-Fe Based NaZn_(13)-Typed Compounds

Magnetic field induced entropy change was investigated for La-Fe based NaZn13-type compounds with magnetic first-order phase transition. In view of magnetic refrigeration at room temperature, the developing of the materials and the understanding of the entropy change were., reviewed. For La-Fe-Si compounds, the entropy change about 29 J·kg^- 1·K^-1 was obtained at 190 K under the magnetic field of 5 T.While a large entropy change of about 15 J·kg^-1·K^-1 near room temperature under 5 T can be obtained by the substitution of Co for Fe in the compounds. It is found that the entropy change is mainly composed of that contributed from magnetic ordering and crystal lattice. The large entropy change consumed by lattice contribution is mainly due to the magnetic ordering one.

Light-induced magnetic phase transition in van der Waals antiferromagnets

Control over magnetic properties by optical stimulation is not only interesting from the physics point of view,but also important for practical applications such as magneto-optical devices.Here,based on a simple tight-binding(TB)model,we propose a general theory of light-induced magnetic phase transition(MPT)in antiferromagnets.Considering the fact that the bandgap of the antiferromagnetic(AFM)phase is usually larger than that of the ferromagnetic(FM)one for a given system,we suggest that light-induced electronic excitation prefers to stabilize the FM state over the AFM one,and will induce an MPT from AFM phase to FM phase once a critical photocarrier concentration(αc)is reached.This theory has been confirmed by performing firstprinciples calculations on a series of 2D van der Waals(vd W)antiferromagnets.Interestingly,a linear relationship betweenαc and the intrinsic material parameters is obtained,in agreement with our TB model analysis.Our general theory paves a new way to manipulate 2D magnetism with high speed and superior resolution.

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects in Eu(Ti,Nb,Mn)O_(3) perovskites

In perovskite EuTiO_(3),the magnetic characteristics and magnetocaloric effect(MCE) can be flexibly regulated by converting the magnetism from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic.In the present work,a series of Eu(Ti,Nb,Mn)O_(3) compounds,abbreviated as ETNMO for convenience of description,was fabricated and their crystallography,magnetism together with cryogenic magnetocaloric effects were systematically investigated.The crystallographic results demonstrate the cubic perovskite structure for all the compounds,with the space group of Pm3m.Two magnetic phase transitions are observed in these second-order phase transition(SOPT) materials.The joint substitution of elements Mn and Nb can considerably manipulate the magnetic phase transition process and magnetocaloric performance of the ETNMO compounds.As the Mn content increases,gradually widened-ΔS_(M)-T curves are obtained,and two peaks with a broad shoulder are observed in the-ΔS_(M)-T curves for Δμ_(0)H≤0-1 T.Under a field change of 0-5 T,the values of maximum magnetic entropy change(-ΔS_(M)^(max)) and refrigeration capacity(RC) are evaluated to be 34.7 J/(kg·K) and 364.9 J/kg for EuTi_(0.8625)Nb_(0.0625)Mn_(0.075)O_(3), 27.8 J/(kg·K) and367.6 J/kg for EuTi_(0.8375)Nb_(0.0625)Mn_(0.1)O_(3),23.2 J/(kg·K) and 369.2 J/kg for EuTi_(0.8125)Nb_(0.0625)Mn_(0.125)O_(3),17.1 J/(kg·K) and 357.6 J/kg for EuTi_(0.7875)Nb_(0.0625)Mn_(0.15)O_(3),respectively.The co nsiderable MCE parameters make the ETNMO compounds potential candidates for cryogenic magnetic refrigeration.

Structure, magnetism and magnetocaloric effects in Er_(5)Si_(3)B_(x)(x=0.3,0.6) compounds

We investigate the structure, magnetic properties, magnetic phase transitions and magnetocaloric effects(MCEs) of Er5Si3Bx(x=0.3,0.6) compounds. The Er5Si3Bx(x = 0.3, 0.6) compounds crystalize in a Mn5Si3type hexagonal structure(space group: P63/cm) and exhibit a successive complicated magnetic phase transition. The extensive magnetic phase transitions contribute to the broad temperature range of MCEs exhibiting in Er_(5)Si_(3)B_(x)(x=0.3,0.6) compounds, with maximum magnetic entropy change(-ΔSM_(max)) and refrigeration capacity of 10.2 J·kg^(-1)·K^(-1), 356.3 J/kg and 11.5 J·kg^(-1)·K^(-1),393.3 J/kg under varying magnetic fields 0–5 T, respectively. Remarkably, the δTFWHMvalues(the temperature range corresponding to 1/2×|-ΔSM_(max)|) of Er5Si3Bx(x=0.3,0.6) compounds were up to 41.8 K and 39.6 K, respectively. Thus, the present work provides a potential magnetic refrigeration material with a broad temperature range MCEs for applications in cryogenic magnetic refrigerators.