Magnetism and magnetocaloric effect in the RE2CuSi3 (RE = Dy and Ho) compounds.

We reported the magnetism, magnetic phase transition behavior and magnetocaloric effect of the ternary Dy 2 CuSi 3 and Ho 2 CuSi 3 compounds. A second order magnetic phase transition from a paramagnetic (PM) to ferromagnetic (FM) state around their respective Curie temperatures were confirmed by using the magnetic measurements and rescaled magnetic entropy change curves in both compounds. A large magnetic entropy change was obtained with the absence of thermal and magnetic hysteresis loss in both compounds. The maximal magnetic entropy change (-Δ S M max ) reach 18.3 and 28.3 J/kg K for a magnetic field change of 0–70 kOe in Dy 2 CuSi 3 and Ho 2 CuSi 3 , respectively. The corresponding values of relative cooling power ( RCP ) are evaluated to be 460 J/kg and 627 J/kg, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]