Effect of Fe substitution on the structure and magnetocaloric effect of Mn5−xFexGeSi2 alloys

The structure and magnetocaloric effect of Mn5−xFexGeSi2 compounds were studied. Analysis of X-ray powder diffraction and energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy revealed that Mn5−xFexGeSi2 alloys with x<1 crystallize in the Mn5Si3-type structure (space group P63/mcm), maintaining the structure of Mn5Ge3; and alloys with x=1.5 and 2 consist of the major Mn5Si3-type phase and the minor Ni2In-type phase (space group P63/mmc). The results of Rietveld refinement showed that the cell parameters for the Mn5Si3-type phase decrease with increasing Fe content. The positive slopes in Arrott plots indicate that a second-order ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition occurs. The Curie temperature increases with increasing Fe content from 182 K for x=0.6 to 224 K for x=2. The maximum magnetic entropy change of 3.7 J/(kg K) for x=0.8 was found under a magnetic field change of 0-20 kOe.