Synthesis and magnetic transitions of rare-earth-free Fe–Mn–Ni–Si-based compositionally complex alloys at bulk and nanoscale

Magnetic phase transitions at the Curie temperature are essential for applications like magnetocaloric refrigeration, magnetic sensors, and actuators, but the reliance on costly, scarce rare-earth materials limits sustainability. Developing affordable, rare-earth-free materials with tunable magnetic...

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Main Authors: Shabbir Tahir, Tatiana Smoliarova, Carlos Doñate-Buendía, Michael Farle, Natalia Shkodich, Bilal Gökce
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Beilstein-Institut 2025-06-01
Series:Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.16.62
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author Shabbir Tahir
Tatiana Smoliarova
Carlos Doñate-Buendía
Michael Farle
Natalia Shkodich
Bilal Gökce
author_facet Shabbir Tahir
Tatiana Smoliarova
Carlos Doñate-Buendía
Michael Farle
Natalia Shkodich
Bilal Gökce
author_sort Shabbir Tahir
collection DOAJ
description Magnetic phase transitions at the Curie temperature are essential for applications like magnetocaloric refrigeration, magnetic sensors, and actuators, but the reliance on costly, scarce rare-earth materials limits sustainability. Developing affordable, rare-earth-free materials with tunable magnetic properties and scalable miniaturization methods is vital for advancing technology. We present a comprehensive synthesis approach for rare-earth-free compositionally complex alloys (CCAs) with magnetic phase transitions, spanning from bulk materials to nanoparticles. Specifically, we investigate Mn22.3Fe22.2Ni22.2Ge16.65Si16.65 (Ge-based CCA) and Mn0.5Fe0.5NiSi0.93Al0.07 (Al-based CCA). The bulk materials are prepared by ball milling and spark plasma sintering or powder pressing and sintering. Nanoparticles (NPs) from the bulk materials are synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in liquid. Magnetization measurements confirm a ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic phase transition in bulk alloys, with Tc = 179 K for Ge-based CCA and Tc = 263 K for Al-based CCA. At the nanoscale, both Ge- and Al-based NPs exhibit superparamagnetic behaviour, with blocking temperatures of TB ≈ 120 K for Ge-based NPs (xc = 13.4 ± 15.5 nm, average particle size) and TB ≈ 100 K for Al-based NPs (xc = 18.4 ± 9.1 nm, average particle size), demonstrating the intrinsic superparamagnetic nature of NPs. While the Ge-based CCA demonstrates almost twice the saturation magnetization (Ms) and ≈20% lower hysteresis (Hc) in bulk form, the Al-based CCA exhibits comparable Ms and ≈45% lower Hc at the nanoscale at 5 K. These results indicate that the Al-based CCA is a promising, cost-effective alternative to Ge-based CCA at nanoscale, providing an economically viable and cost-effective alternative for nanoscale-based applications.
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spelling doaj-art-50e0933bb6d542f5970714e0c228331e2025-08-20T03:12:35ZengBeilstein-InstitutBeilstein Journal of Nanotechnology2190-42862025-06-0116182383610.3762/bjnano.16.622190-4286-16-62Synthesis and magnetic transitions of rare-earth-free Fe–Mn–Ni–Si-based compositionally complex alloys at bulk and nanoscaleShabbir Tahir0Tatiana Smoliarova1Carlos Doñate-Buendía2Michael Farle3Natalia Shkodich4Bilal Gökce5Chair of Materials Science and Additive Manufacturing, University of Wuppertal, Gaußstr. 20, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany Faculty of Physics and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE), University of Duisburg-Essen, Lotharstr. 1, 47057 Duisburg, Germany Chair of Materials Science and Additive Manufacturing, University of Wuppertal, Gaußstr. 20, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany Faculty of Physics and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE), University of Duisburg-Essen, Lotharstr. 1, 47057 Duisburg, Germany Faculty of Physics and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE), University of Duisburg-Essen, Lotharstr. 1, 47057 Duisburg, Germany Chair of Materials Science and Additive Manufacturing, University of Wuppertal, Gaußstr. 20, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany Magnetic phase transitions at the Curie temperature are essential for applications like magnetocaloric refrigeration, magnetic sensors, and actuators, but the reliance on costly, scarce rare-earth materials limits sustainability. Developing affordable, rare-earth-free materials with tunable magnetic properties and scalable miniaturization methods is vital for advancing technology. We present a comprehensive synthesis approach for rare-earth-free compositionally complex alloys (CCAs) with magnetic phase transitions, spanning from bulk materials to nanoparticles. Specifically, we investigate Mn22.3Fe22.2Ni22.2Ge16.65Si16.65 (Ge-based CCA) and Mn0.5Fe0.5NiSi0.93Al0.07 (Al-based CCA). The bulk materials are prepared by ball milling and spark plasma sintering or powder pressing and sintering. Nanoparticles (NPs) from the bulk materials are synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in liquid. Magnetization measurements confirm a ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic phase transition in bulk alloys, with Tc = 179 K for Ge-based CCA and Tc = 263 K for Al-based CCA. At the nanoscale, both Ge- and Al-based NPs exhibit superparamagnetic behaviour, with blocking temperatures of TB ≈ 120 K for Ge-based NPs (xc = 13.4 ± 15.5 nm, average particle size) and TB ≈ 100 K for Al-based NPs (xc = 18.4 ± 9.1 nm, average particle size), demonstrating the intrinsic superparamagnetic nature of NPs. While the Ge-based CCA demonstrates almost twice the saturation magnetization (Ms) and ≈20% lower hysteresis (Hc) in bulk form, the Al-based CCA exhibits comparable Ms and ≈45% lower Hc at the nanoscale at 5 K. These results indicate that the Al-based CCA is a promising, cost-effective alternative to Ge-based CCA at nanoscale, providing an economically viable and cost-effective alternative for nanoscale-based applications.https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.16.62compositionally complex alloysmagnetic phase transitionnanoparticlespulsed laser ablation in liquidrare-earth free
spellingShingle Shabbir Tahir
Tatiana Smoliarova
Carlos Doñate-Buendía
Michael Farle
Natalia Shkodich
Bilal Gökce
Synthesis and magnetic transitions of rare-earth-free Fe–Mn–Ni–Si-based compositionally complex alloys at bulk and nanoscale
Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
compositionally complex alloys
magnetic phase transition
nanoparticles
pulsed laser ablation in liquid
rare-earth free
title Synthesis and magnetic transitions of rare-earth-free Fe–Mn–Ni–Si-based compositionally complex alloys at bulk and nanoscale
title_full Synthesis and magnetic transitions of rare-earth-free Fe–Mn–Ni–Si-based compositionally complex alloys at bulk and nanoscale
title_fullStr Synthesis and magnetic transitions of rare-earth-free Fe–Mn–Ni–Si-based compositionally complex alloys at bulk and nanoscale
title_full_unstemmed Synthesis and magnetic transitions of rare-earth-free Fe–Mn–Ni–Si-based compositionally complex alloys at bulk and nanoscale
title_short Synthesis and magnetic transitions of rare-earth-free Fe–Mn–Ni–Si-based compositionally complex alloys at bulk and nanoscale
title_sort synthesis and magnetic transitions of rare earth free fe mn ni si based compositionally complex alloys at bulk and nanoscale
topic compositionally complex alloys
magnetic phase transition
nanoparticles
pulsed laser ablation in liquid
rare-earth free
url https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.16.62
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