Structural and Magnetic Properties of Inverse-Heusler Mn2FeSi Alloy Powder Prepared by Ball Milling

Ternary Mn2FeSi alloy was synthesized from pure elemental powders by mechanical alloying, using a high-energy planetary ball mill. The formation of an inverse-Heusler phase after 168 h of milling and subsequent annealing at 1173 K for 1.5 h was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The diffractogram analysis yielded XA structure and the lattice parameter 0.5677 nm in a good agreement with the theoretically obtained value of 0.560 nm. The final powder was formed by particles of irregular shape and median diameter D50 of 3.8 mu m and their agglomerates. The chemical analysis resulted in the mean composition of 49.0 at.% Mn, 25.6 at.% Fe and 25.4 at.% Si. At room temperature, the prepared samples featured a heterogeneous magnetic structure consisting of dominant paramagnetic phase confirmed by Mossbauer spectrometry and a weak ferro-/ferrimagnetic contribution detected by magnetization curves. From the field-cooled and zero-field-cooled curves the Neel temperature of 67 K was determined.

Automated summary

Ternary Mn2FeSi alloy was synthesized through mechanical alloying and its structure and lattice parameters were confirmed. The prepared samples exhibited a heterogeneous magnetic structure consisting of a dominant paramagnetic phase and a weak ferro-/ferrimagnetic contribution.