Magnetocaloric effect in the vicinity of second order antiferromagnetic transition of Er2Mn2O7 compound at different applied magnetic field

Magnetic studies on Er2Mn2O7 compound are reported. The Curie Weiss temperature has been analyzed by a linear extrapolation of the temperature dependence of the magnetization M(T) curves and the Landau model. The applied magnetic field (mu H-0) dependence of the magnetization has revealed the absence of any saturation. This behavior has been explained by the fact that both Er3+ and Mn4+ elements carry magnetic moments, leading to a competition between the magnetic interactions at low temperatures. Close to the Neel temperature, a large change in the magnetic entropy has been observed, which suggests that our Er2Mn2O7 compound can be considered as potential candidate for magnetic refrigeration application at very low temperature. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.