Structural, Magnetic and Magnetocaloric Study of Polycrystalline (1-x)La0.65Ca0.35MnO3/xCr2O3 Composites

Magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of polycrystalline (1-x)La0.65Ca0.35MnO3/xCr(2)O(3)(0a parts per thousand currency signx a parts per thousand currency sign 0.3) composites were investigated. Our composites were elaborated using the solid-state reaction at high temperature. Polycrystalline La0.65Ca0.35MnO3 (LCMO) was synthesized using the solid-state reaction at high temperature while for Cr2O3 we used a commercial product. X-ray diffraction patterns show that the parent compound La0.65Ca0.35MnO3 is single phase without any detectable impurity and crystallizes in the orthorhombic structure with Pbnm space group. Magnetocaloric effect of our composite materials in the vicinity of the magnetic transition temperatures was investigated. The maximum of the magnetic entropy change is found to be 5.5, 5.12, 4.5, and 3.12 J kg(-1) K-1 for x = 0,0.1,0.2, and 0.3 under a magnetic field change of 5 T, respectively.