The magnetic structure of the Eu2Xcompounds (X = In, Sn)
A particularly sharp, strongly first-order ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition at Tc=55K was recently discovered in the rare-earth intermetallic compound Eu2In. This transition is remarkable due to the combination of large latent heat, small lattice discontinuities and negligible hysteresis, which makes this material a nearly perfect candidate for magnetic refrigeration. Furthermore, the transition is not accompanied by a structural change and is purely magnetoelastic in nature, which is uncommon among rare earth intermetallics not containing d-elements. By contrast, Eu2Sn, which adopts a closely related crystal structure, exhibits a conventional second order antiferromagnetic transition at TN=31K. 151Eu Mössbauer spectroscopy confirms that the local magnetic behavior of the two compounds is completely different. While the spectrum of Eu2Sn shows a single Eu site and a conventional second order magnetic transition, Eu2In shows two, distinct, equal-area components and a clearly first order transition. The striking contrast between the properties of the two structurally similar compounds demand an in-depth investigation of their underlying magnetism by neutron diffraction.
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D.H. Ryan; BOLDRIN David; L F Cohen; MANFRINETTI Pietro; PROVINO Alessia and RITTER Clemens. (2021). The magnetic structure of the Eu2Xcompounds (X = In, Sn). Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) doi:10.5291/ILL-DATA.5-31-2716
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