Magnetocaloric effect of Pr2Fe17−xMnx alloys

• Published in: Rare metals Vol. 33; no. 5; pp. 552 - 555
• Main Authors: Zhong, Xi-Chun, Liu, Zhong-Wu, Zeng, De-Chang, Gschneidner Jr, Karl A., Pecharsky, Vitalij K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Berlin Heidelberg Nonferrous Metals Society of China 2014
• Subjects: Biomaterials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Energy; Materials Engineering; Materials Science; Metallic Materials; Nanoscale Science and Technology; Physical Chemistry; Mn; Magnetic entropy change; Pr; alloys; Magnetocaloric effect; Fe
• ISSN: 1001-0521; 1867-7185
• DOI: 10.1007/s12598-013-0134-x

Polycrystalline Pr 2 Fe 17− x Mn x ( x  = 0, 1, and 2) alloys were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), heat capacity, ac susceptibility, and isothermal magnetization measurements. All the alloys adopt the rhombohedral Th 2 Zn 17 -type structure. The Curie temperature increases from 283 K at x  = 0 to 294 K at x  = 1, and then decreases to 285 K at x  = 2. The magnetic phase transition at the Curie temperature is a typical second-order paramagnetic–ferromagnetic transition. For an applied field change from 0 to 5 T, the maximum −Δ S M for Pr 2 Fe 17− x Mn x alloys with x  = 0, 1, and 2 are 5.66, 5.07, and 4.31 J·kg −1 ·K −1 , respectively. The refrigerant capacity ( RC ) values range from 458 to 364 J·kg −1 , which is about 70 %–89 % that of Gd. The large, near room temperature Δ S M and RC values, chemical stability, and a high performance-to-cost ratio make Pr 2 Fe 17− x Mn x alloys be selectable materials for room temperature magnetic refrigeration applications.