Experimental investigation into doped Fe2P compounds for magnetocaloric refrigeration

Magnetocaloric refrigeration holds promise as an efficient, low-waste method of refrigeration. Magnetocaloric compounds exhibit a reversible temperature change with application and removal of an external magnetic field due to the exchange of entropy spin and lattice systems across a magnetic phase transition. We performed muon spin relaxation experiments on compounds of Fe2P substituted with Mn and Si, which are promising candidates for practical applications. The results provide detailed information about the characteristics of the magnetic phase transitions in these compounds. We compare and contrast the observed behavior in the pure and doped compounds and offer insights into how this information can guide future applications of these materials.