Nanocrystalline Multifunctional Pr–Co Compounds

Pr–Co-based intermetallic compounds are candidates for permanent magnets and magnetocaloric effect. Samples have been synthesized by ball milling method with a subsequent fast annealing treatment. While the long-range order obtained by standard X-ray powder diffraction is commonly used to describe the structure and try to understand the exceptional properties of these materials, it is necessary to get a better knowledge of the local environment around each component using local probes. In the iron-substituted materials PrCo\(_{3-x}\)Fe\(_x\), the purpose is to find the substitution of cobalt by iron site. Since the relative concentration in iron is not favorable to Mossbauer studies. Magnetic measurements and magnetocaloric effect were performed using magnetometer measurements. The optimum extrinsic magnetic properties have been obtained for Pr\(_5\)Co\(_{19}\) with a coercivity of 1.5 T at room temperature. Furthermore, these uniaxial anisotropic compounds exhibit a large magnetic entropy change at Curie temperature. \(\Delta S_\text {max}\) is equal to 5.2 J/(kg K) under low magnetic field of 0–1 T. These results indicate that these nanomaterials are suitable for permanent magnet applications and for magnetic refrigeration.