Experimental study of the magnetocaloric effect in Gd5Sn2Si2 compound

Abstract We report an experimental study of the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in the Gd 5 Sn 2 Si 2 compound. The MCE Δ S mag ( T ) as a function of temperature is obtained from magnetization M ( H , T ) measurements up to 5 T. A second order magnetic transition is observed at T C ∼220 K with Δ S mag =4.5 J/mol K. T C and transition width Δ T C depends on thermal treatments for homogeneity and crystallographic ordering. At low temperatures, T ∼87 K, we also observed a second peak in Δ S mag which is associated with the presence of antiferromagnetic Gd 5 Sn 4− x Si x .