Magnetism and magnetocaloric effect in the RE2CuSi3 (RE = Dy and Ho) compounds

We reported the magnetism, magnetic phase transition behavior and magnetocaloric effect of the ternary Dy2CuSi3 and Ho2CuSi3 compounds. A second order magnetic phase transition from a paramagnetic (PM) to ferromagnetic (FM) state around their respective Curie temperatures were confirmed by using the magnetic measurements and rescaled magnetic entropy change curves in both compounds. A large magnetic entropy change was obtained with the absence of thermal and magnetic hysteresis loss in both compounds. The maximal magnetic entropy change (-Delta S-M(max)) reach 183 and 28.3 J/kg K for a magnetic field change of 0-70 kOe in Dy2CuSi3 and Ho2CuSi3, respectively. The corresponding values of relative cooling power (RCP) are evaluated to be 460 J/kg and 627 J/kg, respectively. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.