Synthetic Approach for (Mn,Fe)2(Si,P) Magnetocaloric Materials: Purity, Structural, Magnetic, and Magnetocaloric Properties

A conventional solid-state approach has been developed for the synthesis of phase-pure magnetocaloric Mn_2-xFe_xSi_0.5P_0.5 materials (x = 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9). Annealing at high temperatures followed by dwelling at lower temperatures is essential to obtain pure samples with x = 0.7, 0.8, and 0.9. Structural features of the samples with x = 0.6 and 0.9 were analyzed as a function of temperature via synchrotron powder diffraction. The Curie temperature, temperature hysteresis, and magnetic entropy change were established from the magnetic measurements. According to the diffraction and magnetization data, all samples undergo a first-order magnetostructural transition, but the first-order nature becomes less pronounced for samples that are more Mn rich.