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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 magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in the ternary intermetallic compound of EuAuGe have been investigated. The compound undergoes a second-order magnetic phase transition at its own Curie temperatures T∼33 K. A large reversible table-like MCE has been observed from 1 to 40 K, which is related to the magnetic field-sensitive magnetic phase transition. For the magnetic field changes of 0-5 and 0-7 T, the maximum values of magnetic entropy change ( $-{\Delta } S_{\mathrm {M}}^{\max }$) are evaluated to be 7.6 and 10.1 J kg K, respectively; the corresponding relative cooling power ( RCP) are 358 and 499 J kg. The present results indicate that the EuAuGe compound is a considerable candidate for low-temperature refrigeration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]