We report the structural, morphological and magnetic properties of the Ni70Mn30 alloy prepared by Planetary Ball Mill method. Keeping the milling time constant for 30 h, the effect of different ball milling speeds on the synthesis and magnetic properties of the samples was thoroughly investigated. A remarkable variation in the morphology and average particle size was observed with the increase in milling speed. For the samples ball milled at 200 and 300 rpm, the average particle size and hence magnetization were decreased due to the increased lattice strain, distortion and surface effects which became prominent due to the increase in the thickness of the outer magnetically dead layer. For the samples ball milled at 400, 500 and 600 rpm however, the average particle size and hence magnetization were increased. This increased magnetization was attributed to the reduced surface area to volume ratio that ultimately led to the enhanced ferromagnetic interactions. The maximum saturation magnetization (75 emu/g at 1 T applied field) observed for the sample ball milled at 600 rpm and the low value of coercivity makes this material useful as soft magnetic material.

We report the structural, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of Sr1.8Pr0.2FeMo1-xWxO6(0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4) samples prepared by the conventional solid state reaction method. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the formation of the tetragonal double perovskite structure with a I4/mmm space group in all the synthesized samples. The temperature dependent magnetization measurements reveal that all the samples go through a ferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase transition with an increasing temperature. The Arrott plot obtained for each synthesized sample demonstrates the second order nature of the magnetic phase transition. A magnetic entropy change is obtained from the magnetic isotherms. The values of maximum magnetic entropy change and relative cooling power at an applied field of 2.5 T are found to be 0.40 Jkg−1K−1 and 69 Jkg−1 respectively for the Sr1.8Pr0.2FeMoO6 sample. The tunability of magnetization and excellent magnetocaloric features at low applied magnetic field make these materials attractive for use in magnetic refrigeration technology.

La1-xBaxMnO3 (x = 0.30, 0.35 and 0.40) samples have been prepared by solid-state reaction method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) study showed that all the samples crystallized in a rhombohedral structure with an R-3c space group. Variation of the magnetization as a function of the temperature and applied magnetic field was carried out. All the samples revealed ferromagnetic to paramagnetic (FM-PM) phase transition at the Curie temperature TC ~ 342 K. The magnetic entropy change was also studied through examination of the measured magnetic isotherms M(H, T) near TC. The magnetocaloric effect was calculated in terms of the isothermal magnetic entropy change. The maximum entropy change reaches a value of 1.192 J/ kgK under a magnetic field change of 2.5T for the La0.6Ba0.4MnO3 composition. The relative cooling power (RCP) is 79.31 J/ kg for the same applied magnetic field.