Ferromagnetism in 5f-band metamagnet UCoAl induced by Os doping

A. V. Andreev, K. Shirasaki, J. Šebek, J. Vejpravová, D. I. Gorbunov, L. Havela, S. Daniš, T. Yamamura

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

UCoAl is a 5f-band metamagnet with a uniquely low paramagnetic-to-ferromagnetic transition field, 0.7 T, extremely sensitive to any perturbation such as elemental substitution. Here, we study variations of magnetic properties in the UCoAl-UOsAl system on single- and polycrystalline samples with different concentration of Os. We found that osmium can substitute Co in UCoAl up to 20%, while preserving the ZrNiAl structure type. Pure UOsAl was identified as a hexagonal Laves phase, MgZn2 type. It is a weak Pauli paramagnet. Even a 2%-substitution of Os for Co in the 5f band metamagnet stabilizes ferromagnetism with the Curie temperature TC = 26 K and uranium magnetic moment μU = 0.4 μB and shifts the critical metamagnetic field to zero. Higher Os concentrations enhance both TC and μU. All magnetic response is concentrated into the c-axis; the susceptibility for magnetic field perpendicular to c is low and practically temperature-independent. Our study reflects the decisive role of the 5f-5d hybridization in the magnetism of the UCoAl-UOsAl system. This work completes the study of the alloying of UCoAl with late transition metals and indicates that the non-magnetic phase exhibiting band metamagnetism is very limited in the concentration range.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)275-282
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Alloys and Compounds
Volume681
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016 Oct 5

Keywords

  • Itinerant metamagnetism
  • UCoAl
  • Uranium intermetallics

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