Magnetic coupling between Gd and Pr ions and magnetocaloric effect in Gd0.5Pr0.5Al2 compound.

Abstract

In this work, we report the theoretical and experimental investigations on the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties for Gd 0.5 Pr 0.5 Al 2 compound in different magnetic fields. The magnetization features indicate that Gd 0.5 Pr 0.5 Al 2is ferrimagnetic at low temperatures. We also present data from X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) experiments for this compound, with which we have confirmed that the magnetic moments of the Pr ions are antiparallel to the magnetic moments of the Gd ions. The magnetocaloric parameters, ΔT S and ΔS T , were obtained from calorimetric data and both curves present normal and inverse magnetocaloric effect. A theoretical model for ferrimagnetic coupling, including the crystalline electrical field anisotropy, was used to describe the ΔT S and ΔS Texperimental results.