Structure and magnetic transition of LaFe13-xSix compounds

Structure and magnetic transitions were investigated by x-ray diffraction and Moessbauer spectroscopy in LaFe13-xSix compounds with x = 1.6, 2.0 and 2.6. With increasing Si content, the La-Fe interatomic distance decreased while the average Fe-Fe distance increased. These changes affect the structural stability and the magnetic properties of the compounds. The temperature dependence of the hyperfine field for the compound with x = 2.6 can be fitted very well using a mean field model with a Brillouin function (BF) while that for the compounds with x = 1.6 and 2.0 changes more sharply than that predicted by the BF relation near the Curie temperature. The different nature of the magnetic transition with different Si content originates from the spatial distribution of the Si atoms and related variation of the La-(Fe, Si) and the Fe-Fe distances in the cubic NaZn13 structure