Barocaloric effect in the magnetocaloric prototype Gd5Si2Ge2

We report on calorimetric measurements under hydrostatic pressure that enabled us to determine the barocaloric effect in Gd5Si2Ge2. The values for the entropy change for moderate pressures compare favourably to those corresponding to the magnetocaloric effect in this compound. Entropy data are complemented with direct measurements of the adiabatic pressure-induced temperature change. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4745920]