Multiferroicity and magnetoelectric coupling enhanced large magnetocaloric effect in DyFe0.5Cr0.5O3

Abstract

DyFe0.5Cr0.5O3 has been synthesized using a sol-gel method. It exhibits ferroelectricity at the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature TN1∼261 K. Large magnetocaloric effect (MCE) (11.3 J/kg K at 4.5 T) enhanced by magnetoelectric coupling due to magnetic field and temperature induced magnetic transition was observed. Temperature-dependent Raman study shows an anomalous behavior near TN1 in the phonon modes related to the vibration of Dy atoms and stretching of CrO6/FeO6 octahedra, suggesting the ferroelectricity in DyFe0.5Cr0.5O3 is associated with the spin-phonon coupling with respect to both Dy and Cr/Fe ions. These results suggest routes to obtain high-temperature multiferroicity and large MCE for practical applications.