Qiao-Yan Dong

Magnetocaloric effect in La1-xPrxFe10.7Co0.8Si1.5 compounds near room temperature

The magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects in NaZn13-type La1−xPrxFe10.7Co0.8Si1.5 compounds have been investigated. Partially replacing La with Pr leads to a small reduction in the Curie temperature TC due to the lattice contraction, but the values of TC for La1−xPrxFe10.7Co0.8Si1.5 are close to room temperature. The maximum values of magnetic entropy change ΔSm in La1−xPrxFe10.7Co0.8Si1.5 with x ≤ 0.5 are in the range 13.5–14.6 J kg−1 K−1 for a field change of 0–5 T, and correspondingly the values of the refrigerant capacity (RC) are 373–353 J kg−1. In particular, the values of ΔSm and RC for a low field change from 0 to 2 T are also obtained to be as high as 7.0–8.1 J kg−1 K−1 and 128–139 J kg−1, respectively. No magnetic hysteresis is observed in the magnetization as a function of both the temperature and the magnetic field in the La1−xPrxFe10.7Co0.8Si1.5 compounds. The large reversible ΔSm and the high reversible RC for a low field change indicate that La1−xPrxFe10.7Co0.8Si1.5 may be a promising candidate for magnetic refrigeration near room temperature.