Magnetic properties of the iron-group metal phosphides

We have investigated the temperature-dependence of the magnetic moment of Cr3P, Mn3P, Fe3P and Ni3P including solid solutions of these compounds with each other. These measurements indicate Ni3P and Cr3P have a temperature-independent Pauli-type paramagnetism. Mn3P is antiferromagnetic (TN≈115°K) with a moment of 1.68 μB for Mn based on the high-temperature susceptibility. Solid solutions of Fe3-xCoxP up to x=0.6 show that Co contributes a moment of 1.6 μB ferromagnetically aligned with the iron. In the Fe3-xNixP system, nickel acts as a diluent for all values of x. Solid solutions of Fe 3-xMnxP up to x=1.5 could also be formed; in this case, antiferromagnetic ordering lowers the magnetic moment significantly. The variation of the magnetic moments with composition for the M3P series closely resembles the Slater-Pauling curve. © 1967 The American Institute of Physics.