Structure and magnetic phase transition in R(Co1-xGax)2 (R = Nd, Gd, Tb, Dy) compounds

X-ray powder diffraction and magnetization measurements reveal that light rare earth and heavy rare earth have different effects on the structure, Curie temperature and magnetic phase transition of the compounds R(Co1-xGax)(2) (R = Nd, Gd, Tb, Dy) (x = 0.0-0.3). The lattice constant exhibits a giant increase with increasing Ga concentration in all compounds. The Curie temperature shows no variation for R = Nd, a monotonic decrease for R = Gd and a maximum for R=Tb and Dy, respectively. The Curie temperature is strongly related with volume expansion, in which a critical value of a(c) approximate to 7.26 Angstrom is reached. The observed magnetic transition in all compounds is well explained within the framework of the Inoue-Shimizu model. It is revealed that both the lattice constant and the Curie temperature have a strong relationship with the order of the magnetic phase transition. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.