Magnetic phase transitions of antiperovskite Mn3−xFexSnC (0.5≤x≤1.3)

The magnetization and electrical resistivity of Mn3−xFexSnC (0.5≤x≤1.3) were measured to investigate the behavior of the complicated magnetic phase transitions and electronic transport properties from 5 to 300 K. The results obtained demonstrate that Fe doping at the Mn sites of Mn3SnC induces a more complicated magnetic phase transition than that in its parent phase Mn3SnC from a paramagnetic (PM) state to a ferrimagnetic (FI) state consisting of antiferromagnetic (AFM) and ferromagnetic (FM) components, while, with the change of Fe-doped content and magnetic field, there is a competition between the AFM component and FM component in the FI state. Both the Curie temperature ( T C ) and the saturated magnetization M s increase with increasing x . The FM component region becomes broader with further increasing Fe-doped content x . The external magnetic field easily creates a saturated FM state (and increased T C ) when H ≥ 1500 Oe . Fe doping quenches the negative thermal expansion (NTE) behavior from 200 to 250 K reported in Mn3SnC.