You can improve the properties of ferromagnets by adding non-magnetic materials

Researchers at Iowa State University found that adding non-magnetic metals to ferromagnets, such as scandium in a gadolinium-germanium alloy, can improve their properties. The scientists spoke about their discovery in the journal Chemistry of Materials.

“Common sense dictates that if you add compound A to compound B, you will most likely end up with some combination of their properties. In the case of adding scandium to gadolinium, we observe an unexpected anomaly, ”said one of the authors of the article, a researcher from Iowa State University Yaroslav Mudryk.

The work of the researchers is based on the discovery in 1997 of the magnetocaloric effect in rare-earth alloys. “Based on the calculations, we assumed that scandium might show us something unusual, and we saw an unexpectedly large magnetic moment emanating from its only 3d electron. Hybridization between the 5d electron of gadolinium and the 3d electron of scandium is the key to enhancing the magnetism of scandium and its transition to a ferromagnetic state, ”explained Durga Paudyal, co-author of the work and colleague of Mudryka.

The discovery of scientists may change how scandium and other elements, which are generally considered not to have magnetic properties, are treated in the st

udy of ferromagnets.