Low temperature neutron diffraction and magnetization of Fe25Cu75 solid solutions

Metastable Fe25Cu75 solid solution obtained by high-energy ball milling has been studied by means of neutron thermo-diffraction and magnetization measurements. This material, which crystallizes in a face centered cubic (FCC) crystal structure, is ferromagnetic, with a value for the Curie temperature, around 190 K. The linear thermal expansion coefficient, αT, has been estimated from the temperature dependence of the lattice parameter in the temperature range 5–300 K. An increase in the value of αT following the normal trend observed in other metallic compounds is observed below 150 K, however, above this temperature αT remains almost constant indicating a slight magneto-volume effect in this material.