Structural, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of the rare earth (RE) molybdate RE2MoO6 (RE = Dy, Tb and Gd) oxides

Abstract

Reported here is a systematical investigation on the crystal structure, magnetic properties and magnetocaloric (MC) effect of three rare earth (RE) molybdate RE2MoO6 (RE = Dy, Tb and Gd) oxides. The X-ray powder diffraction and the morphology as examined using the scanning electron microscope indicate phase-pure and polycrystalline nature of these oxides. The temperature (2–100 K) and magnetic field (up to 5 T) dependence of the magnetic measurements determine the magnetic phase transition (MPT) and MC properties. All the present RE2MoO6 oxides crystallize in a monoclinic structure belonging to C2/c space group with the antiferromagnetic ordering at low temperature. Moreover, the RE2MoO6 oxides hold reasonable values of MC parameters including the maximum isothermal magnetic entropy change/temperature-averaged entropy change (2 K lift) and relative cooling power values have been evaluated with the magnetic change of 0–5 T, yielding 17.22 (17.08) J/kgK and 277.67 J/kg for Dy2MoO6, 17.03 (16.83) J/kgK and 261.12 J/kg for Tb2MoO6, as well as 27.68 (26.69) J/kgK and 228.14 J/kg for Gd2MoO6, respectively. These acceptable MC parameters make the present RE2MoO6 oxides potential candidates for cryogenic magnetic refrigeration (MR).