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Abstract It is well known that rare earth (RE) based intermetallic compounds reveal various interesting magnetic properties depending on the crystallized structures and the constituent elements, paving the way for potential applications in different fields. Recent progresses regarding magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in ternary rare earth RE 2 T 2 X (RE = Gd-Tm; T = Cu, Ni, Co; and X = Cd, In, Ga, Sn, Al) intermetallic compounds are reviewed in this paper. Some of them exhibit excellent MCE performances which make them attractive in the field of magnetic refrigeration at low temperature. With the aim of understanding the magnetocaloric characteristics of RE 2 T 2 X compounds, the crystal structure, magnetism and magnetic phase transition are also focused. The origin of the MCE together with the physics behind and the potential application of RE 2 T 2 X compounds are thoroughly considered. Highlights • Magnetic and magnetocaloric properties in RE 2 T2X compounds are reviewed. • The RE 2 T2X compounds show four types of crystallize structures. • Some of them exhibit excellent cryogenic magnetocaloric performances. • The origin of magnetocaloric effect in RE 2 T2X compounds is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystal structure together with the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties in RE 2 Ni 1.5 Ga 2.5 (RE = Dy, Ho, Er and Tm) have been investigated systematically. All the RE 2 Ni 1.5 Ga 2.5 compounds crystallize in a CaIn 2 -type structure of (P63/mmc space group). A second-ordered magnetic phase transition (SOPT) from ferromagnetic to paramagnetic (FM to PM) is occurred in RE 2 Ni 1.5 Ga 2.5 compounds with the Curie temperatures (T C) of approximately 16.1, 10.6, 4.1 and below 2 K for RE of Dy, Ho, Er and Tm, respectively. The magnetocaloric parameters including magnetic isothermal entropy change/temperature-averaged magnetic entropy change -Δ S M max/ TEC (5) and relative cooling power RCP are calculated with the values of 10.01/9.92 J/kg K and 418.6 J/kg for Dy 2 Ni 1.5 Ga 2.5 , 20.12/19.65 J/kg K and 644.1 J/kg for Ho 2 Ni 1.5 Ga 2.5 , 18.07/17.69 J/kg K and 447.1 J/kg for Er 2 Ni 1.5 Ga 2.5 , as well as 18.22/16.75 J/kg K and 330.7 J/kg for Tm 2 Ni 1.5 Ga 2.5 with magnetic field change (Δ H) of 0–7 T, respectively. Notably, Ho 2 Ni 1.5 Ga 2.5 exhibits ralatively high magnetocaloric parameters, which suggests that Ho 2 Ni 1.5 Ga 2.5 is a competitive candidate among the MCE materials in the field of cryogenic magnetic refrigeration (MR). • Magnetic properties and MCE in RE 2 Ni 1.5 Ga 2.5 compounds were studied. • Large values of -ΔS M max, TEC and RCP were observed at low temperature. • Ho 2 Ni 1.5 Ga 2.5 compound is competitive for cryogenic magnetic cooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]