Magnetic properties of liquid 3d transition metal–Si alloys

The magnetic susceptibility has been measured for liquid transition metal–Si alloys (TM1−cSic, TM = Ni, Co, Fe, Mn) as a function of temperature. The magnetic susceptibilities of liquid Ni1−cSic with c ⩾ 0.3, liquid Co1−cSic with c ⩾ 0.4 and liquid Fe1−cSic with c ⩾ 0.6 were found to be almost independent of temperature, which suggests that the Ni, Co and Fe ions on the Si side are in the non-magnetic state. Liquid Ni1−cSic with c ⩽ 0.2, liquid Co1−cSic with c ⩽ 0.3 and liquid Fe1−cSic with c ⩽ 0.5 show the Curie–Weiss behavior with a reasonable value of effective Bohr magnetic number. Liquid Mn1−cSic with c ⩽ 0.2 and c ⩾ 0.6 were found to be in their non-magnetic state. However, the Curie–Weiss behavior was observed for liquid Mn1−cSic with c = 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The magnetic susceptibility of their liquid alloys in the non-magnetic state has been studied by using Anderson model. The density of 3d states at the Fermi level can be estimated from the data of magnetic susceptibility.