Preparation and magneto-caloric effect of La1-xAgxMnO3 (x=0.10-0.30) perovskite compounds

Polycrystalline La1-xAgxMnO3 perovskite compounds (with x = 0.10-0.30) have been synthesised by both the conventional solid-state reaction and the sol-gel method. While all samples with Ag concentrations up to 0.20 consist of single-phase perovskites with rhombohedral structure, unreacted Ag was found in the samples with Ag concentrations of 0.22 and higher. Magnetic properties of the as-prepared materials have been investigated. The magneto-caloric effect in these compounds has been found to be considerably large and higher than that in other perovskite compounds in which La is substituted by divalent alkali-earth elements. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.