Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect of MnFeP0.5Ge0.5-xSix compounds

Abstract We have studied the magnetic properties and magnetic-entropy changes of the MnFeP 0.5 Ge 0.5− x Si x compounds with x  = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.45. X-ray diffraction shows that the compounds crystallize in the Fe 2 P-type hexagonal structure. The lattice parameter a and the Curie temperature decreases with increasing x . The maximal magnetic-entropy changes for x  = 0.4 and 0.45 derived from the magnetization data are about 6.0 J/kg K and 5.8 J/kg K, respectively, for a field change from 0 to 1.5 T.