# Why doesn't curie temperature follow a periodic trend in ferromagnetic materials Tags: inorganic-chemistry, magnetism - Score: 15 - Views: 527 - Answers: 1 - Answered: yes - Asked by: getafix (8583 rep) - Asked: 2016-12-30 - Site: chemistry ## Question I was writing up an answer to a question which was asking why the Curie Temperature's of $\ce{Fe, Co, Ni}$ don't follow a periodic trend. The OP voluntarily deleted his question before I could finish and post my answer. The OP has reasoned as follows: Since Iron, Cobal and Nickel have electron configurations $\ce{[Ar] 3d^6 4s^2, [Ar] 3d^7 4s^2\ \text{and}\ [Ar] 3d^8 4s^2}$, giving them 4 , 3, and 2 unpaired electrons respectively. This according to the OP should suggest a periodicity in Curie Temperature's which isn't observed. Clearly this isn't the case. For your reference, the Curie temperatures for the three metals are (iron, cobalt, nickel): $1043\ \mathrm{K}, 1400\ \mathrm{K}, 627\ \mathrm{K}$ Since this did indicate some ignorance about the origins of magnetism, I decided to to write up a short answer, describing the salient features and at the same time correcting OP's misconception. The answer was kept relatively s