Magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of Gd2In0.8X0.2 compounds (X=Al, Ga, Sn, Pb)

• We synthesize Gd2In1−xXx intermetallics for X=Al, Ga, Sn and Pb.
• Magnetic properties and MCE of the Gd2In0.8X0.2 compounds have been investigated.
• The substitution of In by isoelectronic elements barely changes TC.
• The substitution of In by non-isoelectronic elements significantly increases TC.

We show that it is possible to replace in Gd2In some amount of In by X=Al, Ga, Sn and Pb to obtain Gd2In1−xXx samples after melting. The magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of the Gd2In0.8X0.2 intermetallic compounds have been investigated through dc magnetization measurements. We evidence that the substitution of Al and Ga for In barely changes the Curie temperature TC but decreases the second magnetic transition temperature T′ which corresponds to the transition from a ferromagnetic to an antiferromagnetic state. On the other hand, the substitution of Sn and Pb for In strongly increases TC and changes the nature or even suppresses the transition at lower temperature. This magnetic behavior gives rise to an interesting way to tune the Curie temperature near room temperature without diluting the Gd network and thus to modify the magnetocaloric effect in Gd2In1−xXx compounds.