Magnetic transition and magnetic entropy changes of La0.8P0.1MnO3 and La0.8Pb0.1Na0.1MnO3

In the present work we analyze the magnetic entropy change Delta S-M of La0.8Pb0.1MnO3 (LPMO) and La0.8Pb0.1Na0.1MnO3 (LPNMO). Using Arrott plots, it was found that the phase transition for both samples is of second-order. The presence of short-range magnetic order (SRMO) in the paramagnetic phase of these samples greatly depresses the magnetic entropy: the vertical bar Delta S-M(max)vertical bar values are well below the values expected without considering the effect of SRMO. Moreover, the analysis of the MCE using Landau theory of phase transition shows that the contributions to the free energy from the presence of ferromagnetic clusters are strongly influencing the MCE by coupling with the order parameter around the Curie temperature. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.