Exploring the antiferromagnetic coupling of Pr and Gd in Pr1−xGdxNi single crystals

Magnetization measurements were carried out on pseudo-binary Pr1−xGdxNi single crystals for x = 0.0 , 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.9. The magnetic transition temperatures and the effective magnetic moments estimated using the mixed compounds were found to vary approximately linearly with x . However, the saturation magnetization observed at the c -axis magnetically easy direction of PrNi exhibited a nonlinear variation against x with a minimum value at x ∼ 0.25 . The magnetic coupling between the Pr and Gd moments is found to be antiferromagnetic. A rapid increase in magnetization in higher external field, onset at 5 T, is observed for the intermediate values of x and suggests that there is a rearrangement of magnetic moments.