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arXiv · 0804.1926

Room temperature soft ferromagnetism in the nanocrystalline form of YCo2 - a well-known bulk Pauli paramagnet

S. Narayana Jammalamadaka·E. V. Sampathkumaran·V. Satya Narayana Murthy·G. Markandeyulu
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Abstract

The Laves phase compound, YCo2, is a well-known exchange-enahnced Pauli paramagnet. We report here that, in the nanocrystalline form, this compound interestingly is an itinerant ferromagnet at room temperature with a low coercive-field. The magnitude of the saturation moment (about 1 Bohr-magneton per formula unit) is large enough to infer that the ferromagnetism is not a surface phenomenon in these nanocrystallites. Since these ferromagnetic nanocrystallines are easy to synthesize with a stable form in air, one can explore applications, particularly where hysteresis is a disadvantage.

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S. Narayana Jammalamadaka, E. V. Sampathkumaran, V. Satya Narayana Murthy, G. Markandeyulu. 2008-06-12. Room temperature soft ferromagnetism in the nanocrystalline form of YCo2 - a well-known bulk Pauli paramagnet. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2929380

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