Large cryogenic magnetocaloric effect in GdNi1-xCox (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.15)

Abstract

Materials for magnetocaloric refrigeration near room temperature attract main attention, but compounds exhibiting large magnetocaloric effects (MCE) in the cryogenic regime are also of importance.1,2 In particular, MCE materials that can support liquefaction of certain gases, from hydrogen (boils at 20 K) to natural gas (~110 K), are of interest for diversification of energy supplies.2Here we report a large MCE in GdNi1-xCox series in the temperature range between 70 and 115 K that can be controlled by varying x(Co) between 0 and 0.15. The compounds undergo second-order magneto-elastic transformations where the transitions from paramagnetic to ferromagnetic states are coupled with anisotropic changes in lattice parameters without significant changes in phase volume.3,4 Lattice symmetry also remains unperturbed across the transitions.3,4 While the transition temperatures increase nearly linearly with x(Co), doping with Co slightly reduces the maximum magnetic entropy changes: from -14 J/ Kg K at 71 K when x(Co) = 0 to -10 J/Kg K at 115 K when x(Co) = 0.15 (all values are quoted for a 50 kOe magnetic field change). The calculated temperature-averaged-entropy changes (TECs), one of the important figures of merit for assessing the potential of magnetic refrigerants,5 are comparable with the best known potential magnetocaloric materials exhibiting second-order phase transition. Our detailed analysis of the magnetic field dependence of the magnetic entropy changes along with critical exponent analysis explore the role of magneto-elastic coupling on the magnetocaloric properties of GdNi1-xCox alloys.Acknowledgement: This work was performed at Ames Laboratory and was supported by the Division of Materials Science and Engineering of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Ames Laboratory is operated for the U.S. DOE by Iowa State University under Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11358.