Structure and magnetic properties of L10-MnGa nanoparticles prepared using direct reactions between Mn nanoparticles and Ga

Abstract

The tetragonal L10-Mn1+xGa (x<0.8) nanoparticles and bcc-Mn23Ga77 nanoparticles with large coercivity were prepared using direct reactions between Mn nanoparticles and Ga at elevated temperatures. The Mn23Ga77 phase was formed at ∼573 K while the L10-structured Mn1+xGa was formed at ∼850 K. After ball-milling, the L10-Mn1+xGa nanoparticles transformed into nano-flakes with enhanced coercivity. The size of the as-prepared Mn23Ga77 nanoparticles is comparable to that of the precursor Mn nanoparticles. An aggregation of the nanoparticles and thus a larger particle size were observed in the L10-Mn1+xGa nanoparticles obtained at 850 K. The size of the L10-Mn1+xGa nano-flakes is reduced to about 200-400 nm with a thickness of ∼20 nm. The coercivity of the Mn23Ga77 nanoparticles and the L10-Mn1+xGa nanoparticles at 300 K reached up to 0.2 T and 0.43 T, respectively. The coercivity of L10-Mn1+xGa ball-milled nano-flakes is 0.59 T at 300 K.