Effects of substitution of Ni by Sb in MnNi

Abstract The structural, electronic and magnetic structures of MnNi 1– x Sb x alloys and compounds have been investigated by X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, magnetization and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The substitution of Ni by Sb leads to drastic changes both in the crystallographic and electronic structure, with remarkable modifications in the magnetic properties of the investigated systems. The most important feature of the XPS spectra is the well‐defined magnetic exchange splitting of the Mn 3s core levels of all investigated alloys, giving a direct evidence of the existence of local magnetic moments in the Anderson's sense confined on Mn sites. In order to investigate the hybridization between the Mn and Ni 3d states and the Sb 5p states, the XPS valence band spectra were calculated and compared to the experimental spectra. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)