A magnetocaloric study on the series of 3d-metal chromites ACr2O4 where A = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn

Abstract

The 3d-metal chromites ACr2O4where A is a magnetic ion, show the paramagnetic to ferrimagnetic phase transition atTCwhile for non-magnetic A-site ion, ACr2O4show paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic phase transition atTN. In this report, we present the detailed study of magnetic and the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of the3d-metal chromites ACr2O4(where A = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) nearTCandTN.Wefind the magnitude of MCE (−ΔSM) decreases on decreasing the magneticmoment of A-site ion with an exception for CuCr2O4. Additionally, to know more about the order and nature of phase transition, we have made a scaling analysis of(−ΔSM) for all the chromites across the phase transition temperaturesTCandTN.