Structure and magnetic properties of a solution of carbon in YFe10.5Mo1.5 prepared by arc melting

The structural and magnetic properties of a solution of carbon in YFe10.5Mo1.5 prepared by arc melting have been studied by means of magnetic measurements and the neutron powder diffraction technique. It was found that the carbides retain the ThMn12-type structure but with an increase of unit-cell volume. The neutron diffraction results indicate that most of the carbon atoms occupy the interstitial 2b sites and the others occupy the substitutional 8i sites. According to the magnetic measurements, both the Curie temperature and the saturation magnetization are found to increase with the carbon concentration x in the YFe10.5Mo1.5Cx series, and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy is also affected by the carbon atoms. (author)