Magnetocaloric and Magnetostrictive Properties of the Tb(Co,In)2 Laves Phases

Abstract—Multicomponent polycrystalline TbIn_xCo_2 – x (with х = 0–0.2) solid solutions are prepared for the first time, and their crystal structure and magnetic, magnetocaloric, and magnetostrictive properties are studied. X-ray diffraction patterns taken at room temperature demonstrate mainly the presence of the cubic C15 Laves phase in all samples. As the indium content increases to x = 0.1, the lattice parameter is found to increase; the further increase in the indium content to х = 0.2 leads to a decrease in the lattice parameter. In this case, the Curie temperature T_C monotonically increases to 245 K. The isotheral magnetic entropy change ΔS_mag is calculated in accordance with magnetic measurements using the thermodynamic Maxwell’s relation. At a magnetic field change from 0 to 1.8 T, the maximum entropy change monotonically decreases and, for composition with x = 0.2, is 1.8 J/(kg К). As the indium content increases to x = 0.05, the volume magnetostriction increases. The further increase in the indium concentration leads to the decrease in the peak values and their shift to high temperatures.