The study of magnetocaloric effect in the electrodeposited thin films of M3[Cr(CN)6]2·zH2O (M = Fe and Cr)

Abstract

The electrodeposited thin films of Prussian blue analogs, Fe3[Cr(CN)6]2·zH2O (FeCr) and Cr3[Cr(CN)6]2·zH2O (CrCr), were investigated, focusing in particular on their magnetocaloric properties. Both samples show magnetocaloric effect (MCE) reaching the peak values of magnetic entropy change of 10 J·kg−1K−1 for FeCr and 0.71 J·kg−1K−1 for CrCr at μ0ΔH = 5 T, and 23 K and 218 K, respectively. The temperature averaged entropy change (TEC) was evaluated in the wide temperature range, resulting in TEC(3) = 9.9 J·kg−1K−1 and TEC(20) = 8.7 J·kg−1K−1 for FeCr, and TEC(3) = 0.71 J·kg−1K−1 and TEC(20) = 0.67 J·kg−1K−1 for CrCr. The magnetocaloric master curves indicate the second-order phase transition in FeCr and the presence of acomplicated magnetically ordered phase of CrCr below the corresponding critical temperature.