Abstract. The crystal structure and magnetic properties of MnCo x Fe 1-x Si (x=0-0.5) compounds were investigated. With increasing Fe content, the unit cell changes anisotropically and the magnetic property evolves gradually: Curie temperature decreases continuously, the first-order metamagnetic transition from a low-temperature helical antiferromagnetic state to a high-temperature ferromagnetic state disappears gradually and then a spin-glass-like state and another antiferromagnetic state emerge in the low temperature region. The Curie transition leads to a moderate conventional entropy change. The metamagnetic transition not only yields a larger negative magnetocaloric effect at lower applied fields than in MnCoSi but also produces a very large temperature span (103 K for Δμ 0 H=5 T) of ∆ (T) , which results in a large refrigerant capacity. These phenomena were explained in terms of crystal structure change and magnetoelastic coupling mechanism. The low-cost MnCo 1-x Fe x Si compounds are promising candidates for near room temperature magnetic refrigeration applications because of the large isothermal entropy change and the wide working temperature span. PACS number(s): 75.30.Sg, 75.30.Kz
IntroductionRecently, room-temperature magnetic refrigeration based on the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) has emerged as a competitive technology to gas compress for it is energy efficient and also environmentally friendly. Up to date, there are several candidate materials for magnetic refrigeration and according to the nature of the magnetic transition, they fall into two categories: first-order magnetic transition (FOMT) materials and second-order magnetic