CI.The structure and magnetic properties of the alloyMn3AlC

Abstract An alloy of composition close to Mn3AlC was prepared by induction melting. In the as-cast state the alloy was feebly magnetic at room temperature and the magnetic property was retained after homogenization at 1000°c. This alloy was composed of a single phase possessing an ordered face centred cubic structure with lattice parameter 3·869 å. The ordered structure is similar to that found in the alloy Mn3ZnC, the properties of which have been described elsewhere. The alloy Mn3AlC, is strongly magnetic at low temperatures having a saturation moment at 0°k of 99·6 ergs/g/oersted equivalent to a Bohr magneton number 1·20 per Mn atom, the Curie temperature being 15°c. The paramagnetic susceptibility measured over the temperature range 65–800°c, was found to vary with temperature in a manner different from a normal ferromagnetic material, the 1/X-T graph possessing pronounced curvature concave to the temperature axis.