Magnetocaloric and heat capacity studies on NdFe0.5Mn0.5O3

The bulk magnetization, magnetocaloric effect, and heat capacity of polycrystalline NdFe0.5Mn0.5O3 have been studied in the temperature range of 1.5–300 K. The magnetic entropy change (ΔSM) shows a peak near 7 K at 100 kOe with a value of ∼7.22 J kg−1 K−1. Another magnetic entropy change is also observed between 0 and 40 kOe near the spin reorientation region of Fe3+/Mn3+ ions (∼45 K), wherein the entropy change gets suppressed with increasing field. The magnetic heat capacity shows a broad hump near the Néel temperature (∼250 K). Around 5 K, a step-like feature in heat capacity due to the Schottky effect is observed which is associated with the crystal field effects in Nd3+ ions.