Large reversible magnetocaloric effect in Tb 2In

Abstract

The intermetallic compound Tb 2In exhibits two magnetic phase transitions: a paramagnetic-ferromagnetic transition at T C of 165 K and a ferromagnetic–antiferromagnetic one at 45 K. A large reversible magnetocaloric effect is observed in Tb 2In. For a magnetic field change of 5 T, the maximum magnetic entropy change − Δ S M is 6.6 J/kg K at T C . Meanwhile, the full width at half maximum ( δ T FWHM ) of the − Δ S M − T curve has a very high value of 100 K and relative cooling power (RCP) is as high as 660 J/kg with no hysteresis loss. In particular, the large reversible − Δ S M (3.5 J/kg K), δ T FWHM (57 K) and RCP (200 J/kg) are achieved for a low field change of 2 T. The large reversible magnetic–entropy changes, together with high δ T FWHM and RCP values indicate that Tb 2In is a suitable candidate material for magnetic refrigeration.