Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect in Dy1−xScxNi2 solid solutions

X-ray diffraction, magnetization, magnetic susceptibility, and heat capacity data are reported for the solid solutions Dy1−xScxNi2 (0 ≤ x ≥ 1). All the Dy1−xScxNi2 solid solutions are single phase with the C15 cubic Laves phase superstructure. The alloys with x ≤ 0.8 are ferromagnets with a low (below 22 K) Curie temperature that decreases from 21.1 K for DyNi2 to 4.5 K for Dy0.2Sc0.8Ni2. Dy0.1Sc0.9Ni2 and ScNi2 have no long-range magnetic order down to 2 K. At high temperatures, all the Dy1−xScxNi2 solid solutions, except ScNi2, are Curie-Weiss paramagnets. The Debye temperature, phonon and conduction electron contributions as well as a magnetic contribution to the heat capacity have been determined from heat capacity measurements. The magnetocaloric effect for selected solid solutions was determined in magnetic fields up to 3 T.