Magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of Gd2MoSi2C

ABSTRACT We investigate the intrinsic magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect of Gd 2 MoSi 2 C by means of magnetization measurements in steady (14 T) and pulsed (56 T) magnetic fields, complemented by specific heat data. It is shown that the intermetallic compound Gd 2 MoSi 2 C exhibits an antiferromagnetic ground state below the Néel temperature T N = 19 K. The analysis of the disordered paramagnetic phase has led to a paramagnetic Curie temperature θ P = -13 K and an effective magnetic moment μ eff = 7.96 μ B /Gd. At 2 K, the magnetization of Gd 2 MoSi 2 C reaches full saturation for an applied magnetic field of about 23 T; yielding a field-polarized or saturated phase with a mean magnetic moment of 7.02 μ B /Gd. Of particular interest is the temperature dependence of the magnetic entropy change which passes through a minimum. Under an external field variation of μ 0 ΔH = 9, 7 and 3 T, the maximum isothermal entropy change ΔS M is found to be -4.98, -3.08 and -0.67 JKg -1 K -1 , respectively.