Emergent evolution of first-order phase transitions from magneto-structural to magneto-elastic in MnCo1−y Fe y Ge1−x Si x alloys

The emergent evolution of first-order phase transitions from magneto-structural to magneto-elastic and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) have been investigated by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and magnetization measurements. Applying the isostructural alloying principle, the martensitic transition temperature (T M) increases effectively and the Curie temperatures of the two phases increase slightly by substituting the Si content (x). With an appropriate amount of Fe and Si content, an emergent first-order antiferromagnetic–ferromagnetic magnetoelastic transition with thermal hysteresis in the martensitic state occurs for MnCo0.7Fe0.3Ge1–x Si x (x = 0.15–0.40) alloys, which results from the decrease in the nearest-neighbor Mn–Mn distance. Moreover, the values of magnetic entropy change (ΔS M), refrigeration capacity (RC) and temperature-averaged entropy change (TEC, 10 K) with ΔH = 50 kOe reach −12.2 J kg−1 K−1, 112.8 J kg−1 and 11.4 J kg−1 K−1 for MnCo0.7Fe0.3Ge0.8Si0.2 undergoing the ferromagnetic magneto-structural transition in the Curie temperature window. The results facilitate the magnetocaloric/magnetoelastic performance and tunability of multiple phase states in a wider temperature range.