Low-field reversible magnetocaloric effect in Co-dopedMn-Cr-Sb alloys

Abstract

The magnetic phase transition and magnetocaloric effect in the Mn1.89− x Cr0.11Co x Sb ( x =0, 0.04, 0.06) alloys were studied in this work. Results show that the alloys undergo the first-order magneto-elastic phase transition from ferrimagnetic phase to antiferromagnetic phase on cooling, with very narrow thermal hysteresis, i.e., 3–4 K. Co doping cannot only enhance the transformation temperatures of magneto-elastic phase transition, but also avoid the formation of unfavorable MnSb phase. Direct measurements on the adiabatic temperature change ∆ T ad are employed to evaluate the magnetocaloric properties for the studied alloys. Under the field change of 1.5 T, the maximum ∆ T ad up to −1.4 K and the reversible ∆ T ad of −1.2 K can be achieved in the Mn1.85Cr0.11Co0.04Sb alloy. The combination of very small thermal hysteresis and large low-field reversible magnetocaloric effect makes the present alloys very attractive for the potential applications in magnetic refrigeration.