The magnetocaloric properties of GdScSi and GdScGe

The magnetocaloric properties of the ferromagnetic compounds GdScSi (T_C = 354(2) K) and GdScGe (T_C = 349(2) K) (tetragonal CeScSi-type structure refined from single crystal diffractometer data, space group I4/mmm) have been determined. The field dependence of the magnetic entropy ΔS_m change and of the refrigerant capacity RC have been obtained from magnetization measurements. At the T_C Curie temperature, ΔS_m for GdScSi and GdScGe is respectively equal to 2.5 and 3.3 J/kg_Gd K for a magnetic field change of 2 T; the values are comparable to those determined previously for Gd₇Pd₃ and Gd₄Bi₃ which exhibit also a T_C-temperature higher than room temperature. Both microstructural and the analysis of the magnetocaloric response are used to assess the single phase nature of the samples.