A theoretical and experimental investigation on the structure and magnetic properties of Mn2CrGa

Abstract Mn 2 CrGa is a newly found Heusler compound with most of its properties remain unknown. We investigated this system using first-principles calculation and found that it can show a martensitic transformation with a highly ordered L2 1 structure. However, the experimental results of melt-spun Mn 2 CrGa ribbons show a disordered A2-type structure which tends to decompose into D0 19 and D0 3 -type phases during annealing. These characters prohibit the predicted martensitic transformation from happening. This system also shows interesting features like relatively high Curie temperature and strong magnetic interactions, which deserve further studies.