STUDY OF THE STRUCTURAL AND THE ELETRONIC PROPERTIES OF HALF HUESLER ALLOY

CHAPTER ONE 


                                INTRODUCTION 


As man evolve, the need for cleaner and sustainable source of energy increases. To achieve

this, one must first understand material characterization. In the area of material science different

materials are used for different purposes. Hence, the need to characterize materials according

to  their  chemical,  mechanical,  structural,  thermal  properties  etc.  Due  to  the techniques

available, the  study  of  materials  in  order  to classify  them  for technological  application  has

become  easier. Materials  must  first  undergo characterization  before  they  can  be  properly

utilized. For the purpose of this work RhMnP, RhFeGe, RhFeSn which are Rhodium based half

Heusler compounds would be studied with reference to their structural, magnetic and electronic

properties. 


1.0 Background of the study  



Material science is an interdisciplinary field involving the properties of materials and its

applications to various areas of science and engineering. It includes elements of applied

physics and chemistry, as well as chemical, mechanical, civil and electrical engineering. 


With significant media attention to nanoscience and nanotechnology in the recent years,

materials  science  has  been  propelled  to  the  forefront  at  many  universities,  sometimes

controversially.


In materials science, rather than haphazardly looking for and discovering materials and

exploiting their properties, one instead aims to understand materials fundamentally so that

new materials with the desired properties can be created.







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The  basis  of  all  materials  science  involves  relating  the  desired  properties  and  relative

performance of a material in a certain application to the structure of the atoms and phases

in that material through characterization 


1.1 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY


The aim of this study is to investigate the magnetic, electronic and structural properties of

RhYZ (Y = Mn, Fe; Z = P, Ge and Sn) half Heusler alloys.


The basic objective of investigating the Heusler alloy RhMnP, RhFeGe and RhFeSn are

as follow;


1       To know  the  magnetic  and structural  properties  of  the  half Heusler alloy  RhMnP,

RhFeGe, and RhFeSn (XYZ)


2      To give the adequate scientific information on the Heusler alloy RhMnP, ReFeGe

and RhFeSn.


3         To know the various applications of the Heusler alloy RhMnP, RhFeGe and RhFeSn.


1.2 RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY  


To understand the properties of RhMnP, RhFeGe, RhFeSn half Heusler alloys and predict

their possible application from first principles. 


1.3 SCOPE OF STUDY


To investigate the structural, magnetic and electronic properties of RhMnP, RhFeGe and

RhFeSn half heusler alloy for the possibility of a robust and stable half metallic behavior