Magnetocaloric effect in Ni-Zn ferrite nanoparticles prepared by using solution combustion

Abstract

Ni x Zn1−x Fe2O4 (x = 0.2 and 0.3) ferrite nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 65 to 70 nm were synthesized employing the solution combustion route. The magnetocaloric behavior was investigated within the 50 K ≤ T ≤ 400 K range of temperatures (T). The entropy change (ΔS) and the adiabatic temperature change (ΔT) were derived from magnetization (M) and specific heat (C P ) measurements. Both compositions exhibited broad peaks for the isothermal entropy change. The magnetic field (H)-dependent ΔT was analyzed within the mean-field approximation scheme, and the observed magnetocaloric properties of the nanoparticle samples were compared with those of a bulk sample. Our study suggests that the magnetocaloric properties of magnetic oxides strongly depend on the particle size; thus, particle size should be considered as a key tuning parameter in the optimization of magnetic refrigeration.