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The intermetallic gallium compounds RE2Co2Ga with different rare earths (RE = Dy, Ho, Er, and Tm) were synthesized, and their crystal structure, microstructure, magnetic, and cryogenic magneto-caloric performances were investigated. The RE2Co2Ga compounds crystallize with an ordered orthorhombic W2B2Co-type structure (space group Immm). All the RE2Co2Ga compounds undergo ferromagnetic (FM) ordering (second-order) from a paramagnetic to FM transition which induces reversible magneto-caloric effects (MCE). The Curie temperatures (TC) in RE2Co2Ga compounds are determined to be 55.0, 38.5, 25.5, and 11.6 K for RE = Dy, Ho, Er, and Tm, respectively, which fulfill the de Gennes scaling. The RE2Co2Ga compounds show relatively small MCE (i.e., −ΔSM, isothermal magnetic entropy change) around their own phase transition temperatures, and the maximal values of −ΔSM are 7.5, 14.6, 11.2, and 13.2 J/kg K in the field change (ΔH) of 7 T for RE = Dy, Ho, Er, and Tm, respectively. Accordingly, the values of the relative cooling power are 212, 335, 304, and 239 J/kg, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure, magnetic transition and magnetocaloric properties in the ternary gallium intermetallic compounds of Ho 2 Ni 2 Ga and Tm 2 Ni 2 Ga have been systematically investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and magnetization measurements. As found from powder XRD and Rietveld refinement, Ho 2 Ni 2 Ga and Tm 2 Ni 2 Ga crystallized in an orthorhombic structure of the W 2 B 2 Co type belonging to the Immm space group. Both compounds are ordering antiferromagnetically at low temperatures and under low magnetic fields together with a field-induced metamagnetic transition from antiferromagnetic (AFM) to ferromagnetic (FM). Peculiar and similar magnetocaloric properties are observed for both compounds, i. e., an inverse magnetocaloric effect (positive magnetic entropy change, Δ S M ) under low magnetic field changes (Δ H ) and at low temperatures together with a large normal reversible magnetocaloric effect under high Δ H . The positive Δ S M below/at the Néel temperatures ( T N ) is ascribed to first order transition from antiferromagnetic (AFM) to ferromagnetic (FM) states, whereas the negative Δ S M above T N is due to the fact of the magnetic transition from paramagnetic (PM) to ferromagnetic (FM) states. Based on the field-dependent magnetization data, the maximum magnetic entropy change (−Δ S M max ), relative cooling power ( RCP ) and refrigerant capacity ( RC ) are established, and the corresponding values are 9.6 J/kg K, 276 J/kg and 206 J/kg for Ho 2 Ni 2 Ga, and are 4.3 J/kg K, 60 J/kg and 46 J/kg for Tm 2 Ni 2 Ga, respectively, for a magnetic field change of 0–70 kOe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]