Structural, electronic and magnetic properties of ErFeMn and ErFeMnH 4.7 compounds

ErFeMn intermetallic alloy after exposure to high hydrogen pressure transformed into the ErFeMnH4.7 hydride. Both parent material and hydride were investigated for their structural, electronic and magnetic properties by synchrotron XRD (x-ray diffraction), XANES (x-ray absorption near edge structure) and SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device), respectively. Hydrogenation did not change the structure symmetry but caused large expansion of the lattice parameters. Mn and Fe K-edge XANES study of the parent alloy and its hydride reveals that charge on both Mn and Fe atoms remains the same and slightly increases after hydrogenation. Hydrogenation of ErFeMn alloy also caused decrease in the magnetic moment.