Magnetocaloric properties and critical analysis of polymorphic intermetallic compound NdIr₃

Abstract Binary intermetallic compound NdIr 3 has three local minimums (for AuBe 5 -, AuCu 3 -, and PuNi 3 - type structures, respectively) in the formation energy landscape. The compounds with AuBe 5 - and PuNi 3 -type structure order ferromagnetically at very close Curie temperatures ( T C ) ≈10 K, whereas the AuCu 3 -type remains paramagnetic even at 2.5 K. In this report, we have investigated the detailed magnetic properties of the polymorphic NdIr 3 compound, composed of AuBe 5 - and AuCu 3 -type structures. A thorough critical analysis was carried out using magnetic isotherms and specific heat behavior around its magnetic transition temperature. The values of the coefficients of critical coefficients are further verified by exploring the magnetocaloric effect results. Our investigation shows that the compound belongs to the 3D Heisenberg universal class with α = − 0.12, β = 0.34, and γ = 1.36.