Structure, Magnetic and Magnetocaloric Properties of Attempted P Substitutions in LaFe11.5Si1.5 Giant Magnetocaloric Material

Recent theoretical and experimental studies suggested that P can enter the structure of La(Fe,Si) 13 alloys and lead to a significant enhancement of the isothermal entropy change, one of the two main quantities characterizing the magnetocaloric effect. Here, we report a systematic study of P for Si substitutions in La(Fe,Si) 13 alloys. Eight LaFe 11.5 Si 1.5- x P x polycrystalline bulk samples with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2 were prepared by arc-melting followed by heat treatment. Powder x-ray diffraction and SEM/EDX analyses show that the α-Fe secondary phase progressively increases with the increase in P substitutions and that a La-rich LaP secondary phase appears. We therefore found that P does not actually enter the main La(Fe,Si) 13 phase. Magnetization and DSC measurements confirm this interpretation as the Curie temperatures of La(Fe,Si,P) 13 alloys are nearly insensitive to P for Si substitutions and the latent heat of the first-order ferromagnetic transition decreases with the increase in nominal P substitutions. Our work put into questions former reports of the literature on P addition in La(Fe,Si) 13 and highlights the particularly complex synthesis of these alloys.