In our study we aim to explore the effects of downsizing on the intermetallic compound Co₂FeGa, which is a compound from the class of Heusler materials and a predicted half-metallic ferromagnet. In order to obtain well-defined single crystals with significantly different characteristic length we apply two complimentary approaches: (i) optical floating zone method for the preparation of macroscopic single crystals (length ~ cm) and (ii) a wet chemical method based upon filling carbon nanotubes for the synthesis of intermetallic single crystalline nanoparticles (length ~ nm). Both approaches are combined with specific characterization methods. When comparing macroscopic and nanoscopic single crystals, we observe altered physical properties at nanoscale dimension, e.g. size effects in the magnetic properties of the material, namely a large enhancement of the coercive field in Co₂FeGa nanocrystals.
The combined experimental strategy of macroscopic and nanoscopic single crystal preparation opens the perspective to explore size-related physical properties of (intermetallic) materials, where Heusler compounds due to their richness of physical phenomena (e.g. spin polarization, shape memory effect, magneto caloric effect, thermoelectric effect) constitute an especially interesting class of materials.

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