Magnetic properties of disorderedNi3C

The metastable ${\mathrm{Ni}}_3\mathrm{C}$ phase has been produced by mechanically alloying Ni and C. ${\mathrm{Ni}}_3\mathrm{C}$ particles of diameter 10 nm are produced after 90 h of mechanical alloying with no evidence of crystalline Ni in x ray or electron diffraction. Linear muffin-tin orbital band-structure calculations show that ${\mathrm{Ni}}_3\mathrm{C}$ is not expected to be ferromagnetic due to strong Ni-C hybridization in the ordered alloy; however, the introduction of even small amounts of disorder produces locally Ni-rich regions that can sustain magnetism. Mechanically alloyed ${\mathrm{Ni}}_3\mathrm{C}$ is ferromagnetic, with a room-temperature coercivity of 70 Oe and a magnetization of 0.8 emu/g at 5.5 T, although the hysteresis loop is not saturated. The theoretical prediction that interacting locally nickel-rich regions may be responsible for ferromagnetic behavior is supported by the observation of magnetically glassy behavior at low magnetic fields.