Magnetocaloric effect in the Nd2TIn8 (T=Rh, Ir) intermetallics

Abstract The magnetocaloric effect of Nd2TIn8 (T = Rh, Ir) intermetallics was studied theoretically. Both compounds have an antiferromagnetic interaction at low temperatures and crystallize in the same tetragonal Ho2CoGa8 structure. We considered a Hamiltonian spin model for two coupled magnetic sublattices that takes into account the effects of crystalline electrical field and exchange interaction in the mean-field approximation. The estimated crystal field parameters explain the magnetocrystalline anisotropy in these compounds and a comparison of the theoretical value of the magnetocaloric effect with the experimental one in Nd2RhIn8, and Nd2IrIn8 shows good agreement.