Large magnetic entropy change above 300 K in a 14 La0.7Ca0.2Sr0.1MnO3 single crystal

A detailed study of the magneto-caloric effect in a single crystal of La0.7Ca0.2Sr0.1MnO3 has been made. The magnetic entropy change (Delta S-M) reaches a maximum value of similar to 7.45 J/kg K at similar to 308 K for a 50 kOe field change, which is ideal for room-temperature magnetic refrigeration applications. Due to the absence of grains in the manganite single crystal, the Delta S-M distribution of this sample is much more uniform than that of gadolinium and polycrystalline manganites, which is desirable for an Ericson-cycle magnetic refrigerator. The single crystal has the large magnetic entropy change induced by low magnetic field change, which is beneficial for the household application of active magnetic refrigerant (AMR) materials. These results indicate that the present single crystal is an excellent candidate as a working material for room-temperature AMR. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.