Effect of substitution of Fe for Mn on the structural, magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect of LaNdSrCaMnO3

• La0.6Nd0.1Sr0.15Ca0.15Mn1−xFexO3 samples were prepared using solid-state reaction.
• The manganite phase crystallizes in an orthorhombic (Pnma) structure.
• The samples exhibit a second order PM–FM phase transition at TC.
• LNSCMFe0.05 and LNSCMFe0.1 are potential candidates for room-temperature magnetic refrigeration.

We have studied the structural, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of La0.6Nd0.1Sr0.15Ca0.15Mn1−xFexO3 (LNSCMFex) perovskite samples. The samples were synthesized using the solid-state reaction at high temperature and were analyzed by XRD data based on the Rietveld refinement technique. LNSCMFex samples crystallized in orthorhombic symmetry with Pnma space group. Besides, the curves of magnetization reveals that all samples exhibit a magnetic transition from the paramagnetic to ferromagnetic phase at the Curie temperature TC, which decreases from 327 K to 296 K with the increase of the Fe doping level from x=0 to x=0.1. The thermal evolution of magnetization in the ferromagnetic phase at low temperature varies as T3/2 in accordance with Bloch's law. The magnitude of the isothermal magnetic entropy, (−ΔSMmax), at the FM Curie temperature increases from 3.79 J/kg K for x=0 composition to 5.8 J/kg K for x=0.1, under a magnetic field of 5 T. For an applied magnetic field of 5 T, the relative cooling power (RCP) values are found to vary between 173.66 and 231.76 J/kg. These results suggest that these materials could be used as an active magnetic refrigerant around room temperature.