Room temperature magnetocaloric effect in CrTe1-xSbx alloys

We investigate the magnetocaloric effect (MCE), relative cooling power (RCP) and crystalline structure in Sb substituted CrTe1-xSbx (0 <= x <= 0.2) alloy. The Rietveld refinement of the XRD pattern of CrTe1-xSbx showed the emerging of pure hexagonal NiAs structure with P6(3)/mmc (194) space group with increasing Sb substitution. We detect a slight increase in the basal plane alpha-lattice parameter, with a much larger reduction in the c-axis. Magnetic isotherms were measured in the temperature range of 50-400 K. The results revealed an increase in the maximum entropy change vertical bar S-M(T,H)vertical bar with Sb-substitutions in the temperature range (similar to 285-325 K). Moreover, The RCP values increased by about 33% with 20% Sb substitutions. These findings suggest that CrTe1-xSbx alloys can be used in room temperature magnetic cooling at fraction of the coast of pure Gd element the porotype magnetic material for magnetic refrigeration.