Structural and magneto-caloric properties of MnFeP1−xSix compounds prepared by spark plasma sintering

This study investigates the effects of silicon content on the structural and magnetic properties of MnFeP_1-xSi_x compounds prepared by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering. The crystal structures and lattice parameters of the samples are examined by X-ray diffraction using the Rietveld refinement method. Magnetic measurements are performed with a vibrating sample magnetometer. Temperature dependence of magnetization is discussed and is measured at 0.05 T field. It is observed that the samples undergo ferromagnetic-paramagnetic first-order transition near the Curie temperature which induces large magnetic entropy changes.