Unexpected behavior of magnetocaloric effect of Ce(Fe0.96Al0.04)2
摘要
The magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of Ce(Fe0.96Al0.04)2 via antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition is modelled, with the considerable effect of sudden applied field variation (∆H) on MCE taken into account. Through AFM transitions, the results demonstrate that the MCE of Ce(Fe0.96Al0.04)2 is an inverse type. MCE of Ce(Fe0.96Al0.04)2 increases with increasing ∆H until ∆H approaches 2 T. However, as ∆H increases (∆H ≥ 3 T), MCE of Ce(Fe0.96Al0.04)2 decreases, indicating that the AFM phase transforms into ferromagnetic phase, with the AFM phase remaining as a metastable phase. When ∆H reaches a promising value (∆H = 2 T), the thermomagnetic parameters of Ce(Fe0.96Al0.04)2 are noticeably greater or equivalent to the thermomagnetic parameters of other materials such as samarium chromite with metallic glasses and rare-earth cobaltites when ∆H reaches 5 T or higher values. Finally, Ce(Fe0.96Al0.04)2 is an excellent magnet, and its MCE is substantially optimized at ∆H = 2 T, covering cryogenic temperatures ranging from 40 to 80 K.