Magnetocaloric effect in the intermetallic compound Gd7Pd3

As a part of a current research concerning the physical characterisation of Rare Earth intermetallic compounds for magnetic refrigeration devices, the magnetocaloric properties of the Gd7Pd3 phase, which shows a ferromagnetic transition at 318 K, are presented. Heat capacity measurements have been performed in the 5–360 K temperature range and for applied magnetic fields up to 5 T (Tesla). Basing on the heat capacity data the isothermal entropy change ΔSM and the adiabatic temperature rise ΔTad have been calculated ( ΔSM =2.5 and 6.5 J/K kg and ΔTad=3.0 and 8.5 K at 320 K and respectively at 2 and 5 T). From the ΔSM vs. T plot the refrigerant capacity in the 260–360 K temperature range has been calculated to be 100 J/kg for an applied magnetic field of 2 T and 380 J/kg for an applied magnetic field of 5 T.