Controllable thermal expansion and magnetic structure in Er2(Fe,Co)14B intermetallic compounds

Abstract

The control of thermal expansion is attractive but remains challenging for the studies of negative thermal expansion materials. Here, we report a continuously controllable thermal expansion from negative to positive by means of adjusting the magnetic moment of Fe in Er₂(Fe,Co)₁₄B intermetallic compounds. Interestingly, a zero thermal expansion (ZTE) has been achieved in a wide temperature range (ΔT = 355 K), which is larger than most existing ZTE alloys. The spontaneous magnetostriction (ω_S) reveals a negative contribution arising from the magneto-volume effect to the controllable thermal expansion. The present study could be suitable for the design of controllable thermal expansion of other alloys related to the magneto-volume effect.