Achievement of a table-like magnetocaloric effect in the dual-phase ErZn₂/ErZn composite

Abstract

Dual-phase ErZn2/ErZn composite was obtained by induction-melting method. The composite crystallizes in the phases of ErZn2 and ErZn with the weight ratio of 53.8:46.2. The composite undergoes two successive magnetic phase transitions. And accordingly two peaks (partly overlapped) are appeared in the temperature dependence of magnetic part of entropy change ΔSM(T) curves which resulting in a table-like magnetocaloric effect (MCE) and large refrigerant capacity (RC). The MCE parameters are comparable or even larger than most of the recently reported potential magnetic refrigerant materials at similar temperature region, making the dual-phase ErZn2/ErZn composite attractive for low-temperature magnetic refrigeration.