Narrow transitional hysteresis in (Mn -Cr-Co) 2 Sb pnictides for room-temperature magnetic refrigeration

Abstract

Mn1.96-xCrxCo0.04Sb with x = 0.05 and 0.09 has been investigated for its magnetocaloric properties using structural, magnetization and calorimetric methods. These compounds exhibit an antiferromagnetic-ferrimagnetic transition of which the temperature can be adjusted by the Cr concentration. The transition temperature is at room temperature for x = 0.09. Magnetocaloric properties are presented as entropy-change and direct temperature-change. We show that these compounds have a narrow transitional hysteresis and exhibit the inverse magnetocaloric effect. We find a nearly hysteresis-free transition with a 2.6 K temperature-change around 287 K making it attractive for magnetic-cooling.