Tuning of Cr3+ ions doping on the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of La0.5Sr0.5Mn1−xCrxO3

The effects of Cr3+ ions doping on the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of manganites La0.5Sr0.5Mn1−xCrxO3 (x=0.05, 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2) have been investigated. The magnetization measurements show that a ferromagnetic cluster behavior is induced by Cr3+ dopants and the paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transition temperature TC decreases from 319 to 251 K with increasing Cr3+ content from 0.05 to 0.2. The positive slope of the Arrott plots near TC indicates a second order phase transition. The magnetic entropy change (−ΔSM) is estimated from the isothermal magnetization measurements, and the maximum of the magnetic entropy change (−ΔSmaxM) near TC shows a power law dependence of magnetic field: −ΔSmaxM=mn(μ0H)=m(μ0H)n with n being close to the predicted value ~2/3. The experimental results suggest that the magnetic entropy change and TC can be tuned by changing the Cr3+ ions doping level, which offers an effective method for finding an optimal doping level for magnetic refrigeration near room temperature.