This
study probes the structure and magnetocaloric effect of the LnOHCO3 (Ln = Gd3+, Tb3+, Dy3+,
Ho3+, and Er3+) frameworks. The combination
of single crystal X-ray and neutron powder diffraction indicates that
these materials solely adopt the P212121 structure under these synthetic conditions and
magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate they remain paramagnetic
down to 2 K. We show that the magnetocaloric effects of TbOHCO3 and DyOHCO3 have peak entropy changes of 30.99
and 33.34 J kg–1 K–1 for a 2–0
T field change, respectively, which are higher than that of the promising
GdOHCO3 framework above 4 K in moderate magnetic fields.
The magnetic entropy changes of TbOHCO3 and DyOHCO3 above 4 K for smaller than 2 T field changes also exceed
those of Gd3Ga5O12 and Dy3Ga5O12, making them suitable magnetic cooling
materials for use at liquid helium temperatures using the low applied
magnetic fields accessible using permanent magnets, advantageous for
efficient practical cooling devices.