Magnetic properties and giant reversible magnetocaloric effect in GdCoC2

The crystal structure, magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of GdCoC2 have been studied. The compound crystallizes in an orthorhombic CeNiC2-type structure which belongs to the Amm2 space group. A giant reversible MCE is observed in GdCoC2 accompanied by a second-order paramagnetic to ferromagnetic (PM-FM) phase transition around the Curie temperature similar to 15 K. For the magnetic field change of 0-5 T, the maximum values of the magnetic entropy change (-Delta S-M(max)), relative cooling power (RCP), and refrigerant capacity (RC) are 28.4 J kg(-1) K-1, 566 J kg(-1) and 369 J kg(-1), respectively. The present results indicate that GdCoC2 is a promising candidate for Low temperature magnetic refrigeration.