The entropy change of the field-induced antiferromagnetic–ferromagnetic transition in Pr0.5Sr0.5MnO3

In this work, the entropy change in Pr0.5Sr0.5MnO3 around the field-induced antiferromagnetic–ferromangetic transition is reported. The entropy, calculated based on the magnetic data through Maxwell relation, has reached values of ∼4.8 J/kg K for a field change of 8 T, which is numerically as large as that reported for some giant magnetocaloric materials, but with opposite sign. Despite the coexistence of the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic phases and variational phase fractions, Maxwell relation gives the proper description of the entropy change. After a careful analysis, the success of Maxwell relation here can be attributed to the fact that the heat capacity of ferromagnetic phase is higher than that of the antiferromagnetic phase.