Effects of cerium substitution on magnetic properties of naturally layered TbMn6Sn6 compound

The Tb1-xCexMn6Sn6 compounds with x = 0 0.3 crystallize in the hexagonal HfFe6Ge6-type structure (space group P6/mmm). The cerium (Ce) substitution for Tb increases the magnetization while reduces the Curie and spin -orientation temperatures. The hard magnetic properties are enhanced by the Ce substitution, e.g., from a coercivity of similar to 5.4 kOe for TbMn6Sn6 to similar to 7.6 kOe for the Ce-substituted compounds with x = 0.2 at 5 K. The role of Ce substitution in the magnetocrystalline anisotropy is discussed based on the single -ion anisotropy model. The substitution of Ce for critical rare-earth atoms provides an opportunity of improving hard magnetic properties of the rare-earth-based intermetallics.