Magnetocaloric effect in textured polycrystalline Ho2GdAl2

Textured Ho2GdAl2 alloy exhibits highly anisotropic magnetic properties due to the coexistence of preferred crystallographic orientation and magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA). The variation in MCA energy (Ea) induced by the rotation of textured Ho2GdAl2 from a perpendicular to parallel direction under constant field results in a rotating magnetocaloric effect (MCE), which is larger than the conventional MCE. Moreover, the peaks of rotating magnetic entropy change (ΔSR) and rotating adiabatic temperature change (ΔTad,R) broaden asymmetrically towards low temperatures due to the different variation of MCA below and above the Curie temperature TC, thus leading to a table-like rotating MCE over the liquefaction temperature of natural gas.