The effect of substitution of Lu for Ho on some physical properties of LuxHo1-xNi2 solid solutions

Abstract Experimental data on the structure, magnetization, electrical resistivity and heat capacity of polycrystalline Lu x Ho 1− x Ni 2 alloys with x =0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 are represented. X-ray diffraction analysis performed at room temperature was used to study the structure of the Lu x Ho 1− x Ni 2 solid solutions and parent binary compounds. It was found the formation of the C15-type Laves-phase superstructure (space group F 4 ¯ 3 m ). Magnetic measurements showed that the samples with x ⩽ 0.8 are ferromagnets with relatively low (below 20 K) Curie temperatures T C . At high temperatures, all studied solid solutions are Curie–Weiss paramagnets. Temperature dependences of the electrical resistivity are typical of alloys exhibiting the metallic conductivity. The Debye temperature, phonon and conduction-electron contributions as well as magnetic part of the heat capacity have been determined from heat capacity measurements. The magnetocaloric effect was estimated from measurements performed in a low magnetic field of 0.42 T.