Magnetic properties and large magnetocaloric effects of GdPd intermetallic compound

Abstract

With the intention to explore excellent magnetocaloric materials, the intermetallic compound GdPd was synthesized by arc melting and heat treatment. The microstructure, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of the intermetallic compound of GdPd were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the physical property measurement system (PPMS). A large reversible magnetocaloric effect is observed in GdPd accompanied by a second order magnetic phase transition from paramagnetism to ferromagnetism at ∼39 K. The paramagnetic Curie temperature (θp) and the effective magnetic moment (μeff) are determined to be 34.7 K and 8.12 μB/Gd, respectively. The maximum entropy change (|ΔSMMax|) and the relative cooling power (RCP) under a field change of 5 T are estimated to be 20.14 J/(kg·K) and 433 J/kg, respectively. The giant reversible magnetocaloric effects (both the large ΔSM and the high RCP) together with the absence of thermal and field hysteresis make the GdPd compound an attractive candidate for low-temperature magnetic refrigeration.