MAGNETIC-PROPERTIES OF FERHP - INFLUENCE OF METALLIC CLUSTERS ON FERROMAGNETISM

Synthesis of compounds belonging to the FeRhP system reveal the existence of three main structures: hexagonal H-3-Fe2P type, orthorhombic O10-NdCoB type, and hexagonal H12-FePdP type described as polytypes resulting from different packings of a pseudorhombohedral FeRhP subcell. High magnetic field magnetic measurements were carried out in the 4.2-300 K temperature range in fields up to 200 kOe. Very different magnetic properties were observed for the three phases. To explain the low saturation magnetization of both O10 and H12 phases compared to that of the H-3 phase, a structural magnetic framework that leads to the formation of diamagnetic clusters within the ferromagnetic matrix is proposed.