Metamagnetic Transition and Magnetocaloric Effect of PrMnGe

Abstract

PrMnGe was reported to exhibit three magnetic transitions at 415, 150, and about 80 K. The last transition was attributed to the ferro-antiferromagnetic (F-AF) transition. We have investigated the magnetization of PrMnGe as functions of temperature and magnetic field in detail using a pure polycrystalline sample. A first-order metamagnetic transition is observed below 80 K in magnetic fields lower than 5 T. Magnetocaloric effect for PrMnGe related to the F-AF transition is evaluated from the magnetization data. The maximum value of the entropy change from H = 5 to 0 T is calculated to be ΔS_M = 24 mJ/K cm³ at T_max = 69 K.