Maximum Magnetic Entropy Research Articles

Mechanical and Magnetic Properties of Porous Ni50Mn28Ga22 Shape Memory Alloy

A porous Ni50Mn28Ga22 alloy was produced using powder metallurgy, with NaCl serving as the pore-forming agent. The phase structure, mechanical properties, and magnetic properties of annealed bulk alloys and porous alloys with different pore sizes were analyzed. Vacuum sintering for mixed green billets in a tube furnace was employed, which facilitated the direct evaporation of NaCl, resulting in the formation of porous alloys characterized by a complete sinter neck, uniform pore distribution, and consistent pore size. The study found that porous alloys within this size range exhibit a recoverable shape memory performance of 3.5%, as well as a notable decrease in the critical stress required for martensitic twin shear when compared to that of bulk alloys. Additionally, porous alloys demonstrated a 2% superelastic strain when exposed to 353 K. Notably, under a 1.5 T magnetic field, the porous Ni50Mn28Ga22 alloy with a pore size ranging from 20 to 30 μm exhibited a peak saturation magnetization of 62.60 emu/g and a maximum magnetic entropy of 1.93 J/kg·K.

Estimation on magnetic entropy change and specific heat capacity through phoenomological model for Heusler melt spun ribbon of Ni47Mn40−x Si x In3 (x = 1, 2 and 3)

Abstract In this, we report the temperature-dependent magnetization [M(T)] in two distinct magnetic fields of 0.5 T and 5 T for Ni47Mn40−x Si x In3 (x = 1, 2, and 3) alloys. Using a phenomenological model and Maxwell’s thermodynamic relation, the values of the magnetic entropy change and specific heat capacity are calculated, and their values are also compared. The maximum magnetic entropy change and specific heat capacity peak values for different magnetic fields are both steadily reduced for the samples with x = 1 to 3 samples, which is followed by an increase in relative cooling power value. In comparison to 0.5 T magnetic field, the samples investigate the highest values of magnetic entropy change (3.32, 2.81, 2.01 J kg−1 K−1) and specific heat capacity (32.37, 14, 4.32 J kg−1 K−1) with a magnetic field of 5 T. According to this finding, the sample is more responsible for the magnetic field than chemical pressure.

Large reversible multicaloric effects over a broad refrigeration temperature range in Co and B co-doped Ni–Mn–Ti alloys

Solid-state refrigeration is considered a promising alternative to traditional vapor compression refrigeration technology. Researchers demonstrated that Ni–Mn–Ti alloys have a remarkable elastocaloric effect. However, the Ni–Mn–Ti alloy can only operate under a uniaxial stress field due to its antiferromagnetic austenite, which narrows its range of refrigeration temperatures. Here, we activated the magnetism of the alloy by replacing some Ni atoms with Co atoms. The Ni–Co–Mn–Ti–B alloy demonstrates a reversible maximum magnetic entropy change(ΔSm) of 24.9 J kg−1 K−1 and achieves an adiabatic temperature change of 7.8 K under a 7 T magnetic field. Additionally, we demonstrate that adding boron (0.2%) can improve the mechanical properties and cyclic stability in Ni–Mn–Ti alloys. The elastocaloric effect of 21.3 K with high cycle stability (1013 cycles) were successfully achieved in the directionally solidified (Ni35Co15Mn35Ti15)99.8B0.2 alloy. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that the magnetoelastic coupling effect can effectively extend the refrigeration temperature range. The alloys achieved large caloric effects in the temperature range of 240 K–340 K. This provides a new strategy for designing high-performance materials for wide-temperature-domain refrigeration.

Large low-field magnetocaloric performances of the ErCu1.95T0.05Si2 (T = Mn, Fe, Co and Ni) compounds

Magnetocaloric materials are at the heart of magnetic refrigeration (MR) technology. However, there is a scarcity of materials with a large magnetocaloric effect (MCE) at magnetic fields below 2 T. To address this limitation, we investigate the effect of doping in the ErCu2Si2 compound with relatively inexpensive neighboring atoms of Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni in the Cu position, respectively. The results show a significant enhancement in the MCE at low fields. Under the magnetic field change of 0–2 T, the values of maximum magnetic entropy change (−ΔSMmax) for the ErCu1.95T0.05Si2 (T = Mn, Fe, Co and Ni) compounds are 16.4 J/kg·K, 17.5 J/kg·K, 17.8 J/kg·K, and 18.6 J/kg·K, respectively. Compared to those of the parent compound ErCu2Si2, the −ΔSMmax of the ErCu1.95T0.05Si2 (T = Mn, Fe, Co and Ni) compounds exhibit enhancements of 3%, 11%, 13%, and 17%, respectively. Additionally, the magnetic transition temperatures of these doped compounds are lower than that of the parent compound ErCu2Si2, occurring below 2 K. Therefore, ErCu1.95T0.05Si2 (T = Mn, Fe, Co and Ni) compounds with large low-field MCE and negligible loss of hysteresis have the potential to serve as candidate materials for cryogenic magnetic refrigeration.

Magnetic properties and cryogenic magnetocaloric effect of pyrochlore structure RE2Ti2O7 (RE = Gd, Tb, and Ho) compounds

Magnetic refrigeration technology is regarded as one of the ideal solutions for cryogenic refrigeration, while magnetocaloric materials are the crucial ones. A series of polycrystalline RE2Ti2O7 (RE = Gd, Tb, and Ho) compounds were prepared by a simple one-step solid-phase reaction method in the atmosphere. The crystal structure, magnetic properties, and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of these compounds were systematically investigated. Crystallographic research indicates that these compounds crystallized in a pyrochlore structure. Meanwhile, magnetic measurements illustrate that this class of pyrochlore oxides is highly frustrated magnetic materials and exhibits complex magnetic behavior. In addition, under the field change of 0–1 T, the values of the maximum magnetic entropy change (−ΔSMmax) and the refrigeration capacity are calculated to be 0.9 and 5.8 J/kg for Gd2Ti2O7, 9.0 and 32.9 J/kg for Tb2Ti2O7, 9.9 and 29.9 J/kg for Ho2Ti2O7, respectively. Therefore, RE2Ti2O7 (RE = Tb and Ho) pyrochlores exhibit excellent MCEs under low magnetic fields, providing candidate materials for the application of cryogenic magnetic refrigeration technology.

Large magnetocaloric effect and exchange bias properties in Mn-Ni-Co-Sn full Heusler alloy

We have studied the structural, magnetic, magnetocaloric properties and exchange bias (EB) of a Mn-rich Mn-Ni-Co-Sn Heusler alloy, by means of the combined experimental and theoretical investigations. The alloy possesses tetragonal structure at room temperature (RT), and exhibits a first order martensitic transition at around 335 K. It also shows a large magnetocaloric effect in the vicinity of martensitic transition, with a maximum isothermal magnetic entropy change of around 35 J/kg.K, which is significantly larger than that reported for many other Heusler systems. Frequency dependence of spin freezing temperature obeying the dynamical scaling and Vogel-Fulcher law, along with the memory effect confirms the presence of cluster spin glass (CSG) state at low temperatures in the alloy. It shows EB effect at low temperatures, with a maximum EB field of 0.099 Tesla at 2 K, after field cooling in presence of 1 Tesla. Strong exchange coupling among the CSG clusters embedded in a strong ferrimagnetic matrix is found to be responsible for the observed EB. Ab-initio calculations using density functional theory on a representative Mn50Ni35.94Co6.25Sn7.81 alloy (very close to our experimental composition) shows the tetragonal structure with the ferrimagnetic ordering as the ground state, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. Exchange mechanism behind the observed EB in the present alloy has been discussed in the light of varying interatomic distances between different atomic pairs, and hence the magnetic coupling.

Single Hidden Layer Intelligent Approach to Modeling Relative Cooling Power of Rare-Earth-Transition-Metal-Based Refrigerants for Sustainable Magnetic Refrigeration Application

Solid-state magnetocaloric-based magnetic refrigeration offers green and sustainable refrigeration with improved efficiency, compactness and environmental friendliness compared with commercialized gas compression refrigeration systems. Relative cooling power (RCP) plays a significant role in the candidature of any magnetic material refrigerants in this application, while the tunable physical and magnetic properties of rare-earth-transition-metal-based materials strengthen the potential of these materials to be used in a cooling system. This work develops single hidden layer (SIL) extreme learning machine intelligent models for predicting the RCP of rare-earth-transition-metal-based magnetocaloric compounds using elemental constituent ionic radii (IR) and maximum magnetic entropy change (EC) descriptors. The developed model based on the sine (SN) activation function with ionic radii (IR) descriptors (SN-SIL-IR) shows superior performance over the sigmoid (SG) activation function-based model, represented as SG-SIL-IR, with performance improvements of 71.86% and 69.55% determined using the mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE), respectively, upon testing rare-earth-transition-metal-based magnetocaloric compounds. The developed SN-SIL-IR further outperforms the SN-SIL-EC and SG-SIL-EC models which employed maximum magnetic entropy change (EC) descriptors with improvements of 45.74% and 24.79%, respectively, on the basis of MAE performance assessment parameters. Estimates of the developed model agree well with the measured values. The dependence of the RCP on an applied magnetic field for various classes of rare-earth-transition-metal-based magnetocaloric compounds is established using a developed SN-SIL-IR model. The improved precision of the developed SN-SIL-IR model, coupled with ease of its descriptors, will strengthen and facilitate the comprehensive exploration of rare-earth-transition-metal-based magnetocaloric compounds for their practical implementation as magnetic refrigerants for promoting a sustainable system of refrigeration that is known to be efficient and environmentally friendly.

Magnetostructural Transformation and Magnetocaloric Properties of (Ni37.5Co12.5Mn35Ti15)100−xBx (x = 0.0 and 0.4) Melt-Spun Ribbons

The effect of B-doping on the martensitic transformation (MT), microstructure, room temperature (RT) crystal structure, and magnetocaloric properties of a typical all-d-metal Ni37.5Co12.5Mn35Ti15 quaternary alloy was studied by synthesizing melt-spun ribbon samples of nominal composition (Ni37.5Co12.5Mn35Ti15)100−xBx with x = 0.0 and 0.4. For B-free samples, SEM images show a grain-oriented microstructure formed by the columnar in shape-elongated grains with their major axis oriented along the thermal gradient during solidification. By contrast, the B-doped samples show smaller grains whose orientation tends to be perpendicular to the contact surface with the copper wheel. For all samples, austenite (AST) and martensite (MST) phases exhibited a cubic B2-type and 5M monoclinic crystal structure, respectively. The martensitic transition temperature (TM) and the Curie temperature of the austenite phase (TCA) were reduced from 295 K to 253 K and 333 K to 276 K, respectively, with the addition of B. The effect of thermal annealing for different times (from 30 min to 4 h) at 1073 K was studied. Thermal annealing increases the martensitic transformation temperature, whereas TCA remains unchanged. The maximum magnetic field-induced entropy changes |ΔST|max for B-doped samples were around 4.5 J kg−1 K−1 and 4.7 J kg−1 K−1 for as-solidified and annealed samples (1073 K–4 h), respectively, compared to that found for the undoped samples (i.e., ΔST = 16 J kg−1 K−1). However, the entropy reduction is accompanied by an increase in the full width at half-maximum of the ΔST(T) curve.

Magnetocaloric effect modeling of dysprosium-transition metal based intermetallic alloys for magnetic refrigeration application using hybrid genetic algorithm based support vector regression intelligent method.

Intermetallic alloy containing rare earth dysprosium ions with the associated unfilled 4f shell electrons and sub-lattice of 3d-transition metal, results into fascinating magnetic properties which are useful for green refrigeration technological application. Magnetocaloric effect remains the fundamental principle upon which magnetic refrigeration technology is based while this cooling technology has advantages of cost effectiveness, high efficiency and environmental friendliness as compared with the existing conventional gas compression systems. Maximum magnetic entropy change (which controls the hugeness of magnetocaloric effect) of intermetallic alloy Dy-T-X (where T = transition metal and X = any other metal or nonmetal) is modeled in this work using hybrid genetic algorithm based support vector regression (GSVR) computational intelligent method with applied magnetic field, ionic concentration and ionic radii descriptors. The developed GSVR-G model with kernel Gaussian function outperforms GSVR-P model with polynomial function with improvement of 85.23%, 78.82% and 78.67% on the basis of the computed correlation coefficient (CC), mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) on testing sample, respectively. The developed model further investigates the influence of applied external magnetic field on magnetocaloric effect of DyCuAl intermetallic alloy. The developed models in this work circumvent experimental challenges of magnetocaloric effect determination while the recorded precision of the developed model further opens doors for possible exploration of these intermetallic compounds for addressing environmental challenges associated with the present system of cooling.

Magnetocaloric effect in aluminum doped ErCr1−xAlxO3 orthochromites

Aluminum-doped ErCr1-xAlxO3 orthochromites prepared via autocombustion technique were investigated for their magnetic and magnetocaloric properties. X-ray diffraction confirmed that samples were orthorhombic phases with the Pbnm space group without a trace of any impurity. As analyzed via Rietveld refinement of XRD data, structural parameters such as lattice parameters, volume, bond angle, and bond lengths were affected by doping nonmagnetic Al3+ in the compound. ErCrO3 possesses the long-range antiferromagnetic ordering with a weak display ferromagnetism at TN =133 K. Low-temperature high-field magnetic study shows a decrease in Neel temperature (TN ∼ 114 K for x = 0.5), suggesting magnetic ordering suppression due to Al3+ doping. The asymptotic paramagnetic Curie temperature Tcw = −25 K suggests the predominance of antiferromagnetic interactions in ErCrO3 orthochromites, which was observed to increase with Al3+ doping. Isothermal magnetization data show changes in magnetic entropy (−ΔSMmax) and relative cooling power (RCP). The magnetic entropy change, −ΔSMmax, for ErCrO3 estimated from magnetization measurements show 11.60 J kg−1 K−1 at 11 K and a relative cooling power (RCP) of 209.4 J kg−1 at 5 T applied field. While ErCr0.75Al0.25O3 show a maximum magnetic entropy of 11.52 J kg−1 K−1 at 11 K with a 5 T applied field and RCP of 186.66 J kg−1, whereas ErCr0.5Al0.5O3 displayed −ΔSMmax of 11.63 J kg−1 K−1 at 5 K with a 5 T applied field and RCP value of 160.78 J kg−1. The results show that nonmagnetic doping, such as Al3+, could maintain the compound’s magnetocaloric property to an extent.

Giant Low-Field Cryogenic Magnetocaloric Effect in a Polycrystalline EuB4O7 Compound.

To deal with the shortage and high price of helium-3 resources, adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration technology as an alternative to helium-3-based refrigeration technology has received much attention. The magnetism and ultralow-temperature magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of the EuB4O7 compound have been investigated. The results of magnetic and quasi-adiabatic demagnetization measurements suggest the absence of a magnetic order above 0.4 K for EuB4O7. The dipolar interaction between the nearest-neighbor Eu atoms has a characteristic energy of about 800 mK, which may induce a large MCE. The maximum magnetic entropy change reaches 22.8, 36.2, and 47.6 J·kg-1 K-1 at μ0H = 0-10 kOe, 0-20 kOe, and 0-50 kOe, respectively. Measurements by a quasi-adiabatic demagnetization device show that the lowest temperature achievable (289 mK) for polycrystalline EuB4O7 is lower than that (362 mK) for the commercial refrigerant Gd3Ga5O12 (GGG) single crystals. The hold time is more than 70 min below 700 mK, with an environment temperature of 2 K, proving that EuB4O7 exhibits superior cooling performance.

Magnetic properties and large cryogenic magnetocaloric effects in the RE2SiO5 (RE = Gd, Dy, Ho, and Er) silicates

We herein investigated four rare earth (RE)-based oxides, the RE2SiO5 (RE = Gd, Dy, Ho, and Er) silicates, regarding their structural and cryogenic magnetic properties. All the RE2SiO5 silicates are found to crystallized in a monoclinic structure. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy spectra illustrate that RE, Si and O elements in RE2SiO5 silicates are present as RE3+, Si4+, and O2−, respectively. The Dy2SiO5 reveals a first-order magnetic transition around 4.5 K. The magnetic phase transition temperatures are probably below 2 K for the RE2SiO5 (RE = Gd, Ho, and Er) silicates. Large cryogenic magnetocaloric effects (MCE) and good magnetocaloric performances were observed in the RE2SiO5 silicates. The MCE parameters in terms of the maximum magnetic entropy changes, the temperature-averaged entropy change (5 K-lift) and refrigerant capacity under a magnetic field change of 0–5 T are determined to be 35.5, 30.4 J/kgK, and 215.7 J/kg for Gd2SiO5, to be 13.3, 12.9 J/kgK, and 190.5 J/kg for Dy2SiO5, to be 15.3, 15.1 J/kgK, and 274.1 J/kg for Ho2SiO5 and to be 17.9, 16.5 J/kgK, and 181.14 J/kg for Er2SiO5, respectively. These derived values of MCE parameters of the RE2SiO5 silicates, especially for Gd2SiO5, are at similarly high level with or better than those of the updated candidate materials, making them also of potential for practical magnetic refrigeration applications.

DFT and Monte Carlo investigations of electronic structure, magnetic, magnetocaloric, and thermoelectric properties of the perovskite SrXO3 (X = Mn and Fe) compound

The structural, electronic, magnetic, magnetocaloric, and thermoelectric properties of the SrXO3 (X = Mn and Fe) perovskite compounds were investigated using first-principles calculations. It was observed that the SrXO3 compounds are G-anti-ferromagnetic perovskites with partial magnetic moment with a value of 2.7 [Formula: see text] and 2.4 [Formula: see text] for Mn-3d and Fe-3d orbitals for SrMnO3 and SrFeO3, respectively. Moreover, by using Monte Carlo simulation (MCs) combined with the Metropolis algorithm, the calculated coupling interactions between the magnetic atoms Mn–Mn and Fe–Fe are [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]meV and [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]meV for SrMnO3, [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]meV and [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]meV for SrFeO3, respectively. Furthermore, a significant magnetocaloric effect (MCE) was observed around the Néel temperature of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]K (for SrMnO3) and [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]K (for SrFeO3), and the maximal simulated magnetic entropy and relative cooling power values of all the studied compounds are found to be 100[Formula: see text]J/kg (for SrMnO3) and 110[Formula: see text]J/kg (for SrFeO3), respectively, with an applied magnetic field of [Formula: see text] T. These results are in complete agreement with the experimental results and more specifics than other theoretical calculations. Hence, SrXO3 compounds are considered promising candidates for magnetic refrigeration at low temperature.

Exploration of Griffiths phase, spin glass behaviour and memory effect in a frustrated Al2MnCoO7 pyrochlore compound

Al2MnCoO7 pyrochlore compound has been synthesized following the multistep solid-state ceramics route. The compound exhibits a monoclinic structure, which was confirmed through the X-ray diffraction pattern analysis. The magnetization measurements in both zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) modes indicate that the compound undergoes a phase transition from paramagnetic (PM) to antiferromagnetic (AFM) state at the Néel transition temperature TN ∼31 K. Notably, below TN, there is a substantial discrepancy between the ZFC and FC curves, which can be ascribed to the existence of competing ferromagnetic (FM) and AFM interactions, resulting in a glassy behaviour. Additionally, the compound demonstrates a Griffiths phase above TN, signifying the presence of ferromagnetic clusters within the PM region of the material. The spin-glass behaviour is confirmed by the shift of maxima towards higher temperatures with increasing frequency in the ac susceptibility measurement. The memory effect also confirms the spin-glass nature of the compound. The Arrott's plots confirmed that the magnetic phase transition in the material to be a second-order type. Additionally, the material exhibited a maximum magnetic entropy change (−ΔS) value of 1.08 J/kg.K and a relative cooling power of 36.60 J/kg under an applied magnetic field of 5 T.

Magnetic and magnetocaloric effect of Er20Ho20Dy20Cu20Ni20 high-entropy metallic glass

Er20Ho20Dy20Cu20Ni20 high-entropy metallic glass exhibited excellent magnetic refrigeration material with a wide temperature range and high refrigeration capacity (RC) was reported. Er20Ho20Dy20Cu20Ni20 high-entropy metallic glass was observed with typical spin glass behavior around 15.5 K. In addition, we find that the magnetic entropy change (−ΔS M) originates from the sample undergoing a ferromagnetic (FM) to paramagnetic (PM) transition around 20 K. Under a field change from 0 T to 7 T, the value of maximum magnetic entropy change ( −ΔSMmax ) reaches 12.5 J/kg⋅K, and the corresponding value of RC reaches 487.7 J/kg in the temperature range from 6 K to 60 K. The large RC and wide temperature range make the Er20Ho20Dy20Cu20Ni20 high-entropy metallic glass be a promising material for application in magnetic refrigerators.

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect of Ln = Dy, Tb carborane-based metal-organic frameworks.

We present the synthesis and magneto-thermal properties of carborane-based lanthanide metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with the formula {[(Ln)3(mCB-L)4(NO3)(DMF)n]·Solv}, where Ln = Dy or Tb, characterized by dc and ac susceptibility, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and heat capacity measurements. The MOF structure is formed by polymeric 1D chains of Ln ions with three different coordination environments (Ln1, Ln2, Ln3) running along the b-axis, linked by carborane-based linkers thus to provide a 3D structure. Static magnetic measurements reveal that these MOFs behave at low temperature as a system of S* = 1/2 Ising spins, weakly interacting ferromagnetically along the 1D polymeric chain (J*/kB = +0.45 K (+0.5 K) interaction constant estimated for Dy-MOF (Tb-MOF)) and coupled to Ln ions in adjacent chains through dipolar antiferromagnetic interactions. The Dy MOF exhibits slow relaxation of magnetization through a thermally activated process, transitioning to quantum tunneling of the magnetization at low temperatures, while both compounds exhibit field-induced relaxation through a very slow, direct process. The maximum magnetic entropy changes (-ΔSmaxm) for an applied magnetic field change of 2-0 T are 5.71 J kg-1 K-1 and 4.78 J kg-1 K-1, for Dy and Tb MOFs, respectively, while the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) peak for both occurs at T ∼ 1.6 K, approximately double that for the Gd counterpart.

Influence of high-pressure heat treatment on magnetocaloric effects and magnetic phase transition in single crystal Gd3Ga5O12

The magnetic properties and magnetic phase transition critical behavior of Gd3Ga5O12 single crystals subjected to high-pressure heat treatment were investigated. The results show that high-pressure heat treatment reduces the Curie temperature and magnetization of the sample. Under a magnetic field change of 5 T, the maximum isothermal magnetic entropy of the sample is approximately 19.73 J/(kg·K). High-pressure heat treatment increases the phase transition temperature range and leads to an increase in the magnetic refrigeration power. Both Gd3Ga5O12 single crystals and the high-pressure heat-treated sample undergo a second-order phase transition. The critical behavior of the samples aligns with the mean field model acquired via critical model fitting. This indicates that the samples exhibit long–range exchange interactions in the system near the Curie temperature. Thus, this material can be used as a magnetic refrigerant for low-temperature applications.

Investigation of the impact of A-site cation disorder on the structure, magnetic properties, and magnetic entropy change of trisubstituted divalent ions in La0.7(Ba,Ca,Sr)0.3MnO3 manganite.

This study investigates the effect of A-site disorder, characterized by the average ionic radius (〈rA〉) and the cation mismatch (σ2), on the structural, magnetic, critical behavior, and magnetic entropy changes in La0.7(Ba,Ca,Sr)0.3MnO3 manganites with trisubstituted Ba, Ca, and Sr. The sol-gel method was used to prepare polycrystalline samples. All series of compounds crystallize in rhombohedral symmetry with the R3̄c space group. A linear relationship between lattice parameters, unit cell volume, and 〈rA〉 was observed. This reveals an unusual behavior in the correlation between 〈rA〉 and σ2 concerning magnetic properties, which is attributed to the complex simultaneous trisubstitution of divalent ions. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were utilized to validate the chemical composition of compounds. All the samples crystallized in rhombohedral symmetry, and the lattice parameters increased continuously with increasing 〈rA〉. A-site disorder causes distortions in the Mn-O bond length and Mn-O-Mn bond angle in the MnO6 octahedral structure, which influences the double-exchange interaction and electronic bandwidth (W). The Curie temperature (TC) increases linearly with increasing W. The critical behavior around TC for all the samples was investigated by determining the values of the critical exponents (β, γ, and δ) using the modified Arrott plot (MAP) method. The estimated critical exponents show that the unconventional model establishes a short-range ferromagnetic order. The maximum magnetic entropy change (-ΔSM) was obtained with the lowest 〈rA〉 and σ2 value. The analysis of the critical behavior and universal curve indicates a second-order phase transition (SOPT) nature for all samples.

Giant low-field magnetocaloric effect in unstable antiferromagnetic Tm1–xErxNi2Si2 (x = 0.2, 0.4) compounds

Magnetic refrigeration (MR) technology is regarded as an ideal solution for cryogenic applications, relying on magnetocaloric materials which provide necessary chilling effect. A series of polycrystalline Tm1–xErxNi2Si2 (x = 0.2, 0.4) compounds was synthesized, and their magnetic properties, magnetic phase transition together with magnetocaloric effect (MCE) were studied. The Tm1–xErxNi2Si2 (x = 0.2, 0.4) compounds display a field-induced metamagnetic transition from antiferromagnetic (AFM) to ferromagnetism (FM) in excess of 0.2 T, respectively. Meanwhile, the AFM ground state is unstable. Under the field change of 0–2 T, the values of maximal magnetic entropy change (−ΔSMmax) and refrigerant capacity (RC) for Tm0.8Er0.2Ni2Si2 compound are 17.9 J/(kg·K) and 83.5 J/kg, respectively. The large reversible MCE under low magnetic fields (≤2 T) indicates that Tm0.8Er0.2Ni2Si2 compound can serve as potential candidate materials for cryogenic magnetic refrigeration.

Large magnetocaloric effect in gadolinium-rich silicate NaGd9(SiO4)6O2

Magnetic cooling has aroused great interest in cryogenic research due to its high energy efficiency. Due to the large magnetic moment and completely quenched orbital momentum, Gd-based oxides have been promising candidates for cryogenic magnetic refrigerant. In this article, the magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect of NaGd9(SiO4)6O2 (NGSO) single crystal are investigated. The maximum magnetic entropy change of 60 J·kg−1K−1 is observed with the magnetic field changing from 0–7 T at 2.6 K. The large magnetic entropy change can be attributed to high metal/ligand ratio and weak exchange interaction. Particularly, due to the large density of NGSO, the volumetric entropy change is identified to be 382.8 mJ·cm−3K−1, which surpasses most reported magnetic refrigerants in volume units. Besides, the excellent refrigerant capacity and adiabatic temperature change have been determined to be as high as 370.4 J·kg−1 and 7.4 K under the applied field change of 0–7 T and 0–2 T, respectively. These performances suggest that NGSO is a promising candidate for low-temperature magnetic refrigeration applications.