Magnetocaloric effect in a dual-phase coupled LaFe11Si2 crystal prepared by a modified high-pressure zone-melting technique

A modified high-pressure optical zone-melting technique was adopted to grow a rare-earth-based LaFe11Si2 crystal in the present work. Dual-phase coupled microstructure was obtained where aligned α(Fe) phase distributed in the La(Fe,Si)13 matrix. Magnetic measurements showed that the produced crystal underwent a second-order magnetic transition in the vicinity of 250 K. Under a magnetic field change of 30 kOe, the refrigeration capacity (RC) of the produced crystal reached up to 162 J/kg. It was confirmed that zone-melting crystal growth technique is an effective approach to strikingly enhance the magnetocaloric effect of La-Fe-Si refrigeration materials.