Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Gourdon, O.

Publications and source records attributed to Gourdon, O..

Tunable structural and magnetic properties of NiAs-type Mn x Sb (1.00≤x≤1.30) compounds

Mn-based alloys can exhibit a variety of magnetic properties related to their tunable exchange interactions. Here, structural and magnetic properties of hexagonal NiAs-type Mn x Sb (1.00≤x≤1.30) compounds are studied with a combination of X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, and magnetic measurements. It is found that the magnetization, Curie temperature, and magnetocrystalline anisotropy of Mn x Sb compounds can be tuned by controlling Mn concentration and doping at interstitial (2d) sites. With increasing Mn concentration, magnetic moments of Mn atoms decrease and deviate gradually from the ab-plane to the c-axis for 1.20≤x≤1.22 at room temperature, which leads to a decrease of the Curie temperature T c and the spin reorientation temperature T SR . By doping with nonmagnetic elements, a substantial room-temperature magnetocaloric effect without magnetic hysteresis was achieved for Mn 1.12 Zr 0.1 Sb compound, which is highly beneficial to the practical magnetic refrigeration application.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Magnetic structure and phase transition of Ni 2 Mn 1.48 Sb 0.52 magnetic shape memory compound

Here, a comprehensive study of the structural and magnetic properties of the Ni 2 Mn 1.48 Sb 0.52 compound is presente using neutron diffraction and magnetic measurements. It is found that Mn atoms on 4a and 4 sites are ferrimagnetic coupled in the austenitic phase. At 300 K, the magnetic moments of Mn (4a) an Mn (4b) are determined to be 2.72(3) μ B and -2.67(5) μ B , respectively. From 260 K to 4 K, the compound is in martensite phase and the magnetic moments of Mn (2a), Mn (2f), Mn (2b), Mn (2e) at 4 K ar 2.2(5) μ B , 2.3(5) μ B , -2.1(5) μ B , and -2.6(5) μ B , respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Anharmonicity and atomic distribution of SnTe and PbTe thermoelectrics

The structure and lattice dynamics of rock-salt thermoelectric materials SnTe and PbTe are investigated with single crystal and powder neutron diffraction, inelastic neutron scattering (INS), and first-principles simulations. Our first-principles calculations of the radial distribution function (RDF) in both SnTe and PbTe show a clear asymmetry in the first nearest-neighbor (1NN) peak, which increases with temperature, in agreement with experimental reports (Ref. 1,2). We show that this peak asymmetry for the 1NN Sn–Te or Pb–Te bond results from large-amplitude anharmonic vibrations (phonons). No atomic off-centering is found in our simulations. In addition, the atomic mean square displacements derived from our diffraction data reveal stiffer bonding at the anion site, in good agreement with the partial phonon densities of states from INS, and first-principles calculations. In conclusion, these results provide clear evidence for large-amplitude anharmonic phonons associated with the resonant bonding leading to the ferroelectric instability.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗