MAX phases that exhibit long-range magnetic order in
the bulk are
still very hard to synthesize. Chromium and manganese are the cutoff
elements when transitioning through the 3dmetals that still form stable
full and doped MAX phases, respectively. An iron-based (on the M-site) bulk MAX phase does not exist. Therefore, other
strategies to induce long-range magnetic ordering in bulk MAX phases
are necessary to open the path to new functional materials. Here,
we demonstrate the nonconventional synthesis of a hitherto unknown
MAX phase solid-solution (V1–x
Cr
x
)2GaC by microwave heating. The
full series with 0 < x < 1 (x = 0.20, 0.40, 0.50, 0.60, 0.80) forms almost single phase with minimal
differences in their morphology. Their magnetic properties, however,
differ rather significantly, with a maximum susceptibility around x = 0.80. Both the experimental and theoretical/ab initio
magnetic analysis confirm that the solid-solution (V1–x
Cr
x
)2GaC is
an itinerant Pauli paramagnet that almost fulfills the Stoner criterion
for ferromagnetic order (for compositions with x around
0.80). This is a powerful insight into how chemical composition couples
with electronic structure and the resulting bulk magnetic properties
because it provides crucial guidelines to produce long-range ordered
magnetic MAX phases.