“…These data suggest that Gd 5 Si 4 as Gd is an interesting candidate as magnetic refrigerant in the vicinity of room temperature. Moreover, the antiferromagnet Gd 3 Ni (T N ¼ 99 K) which has the highest Gd content among the compounds existing in the GdNi system, is considered as a potential magnetic refrigerant material [6]. Considering these studies, it is interesting to investigate the magnetocaloric properties of the ternary compounds existing in the Gd-Ni-Si system and rich in gadolinium (50% or more in order to minimize the inactive thermal mass of solid).…”