Magnetocaloric effect of Ce(La)In2 alloys near hydrogen condensation point

Gas liquefiers allow efficient transport and storage of gases, key for the development of new energy vectors such as hydrogen fuel. In this sense, magnetic liquefiers based on the magnetocaloric effect are an energy-saving and sustainable alternative to current systems based on the Joule-Thomson exp...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Moreno-Ramírez, Luis M., Rojas, Daniel P., Espeso, José I., Rodríguez Fernández, Jesús, Franco, V.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/418884
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/418884
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105013137436
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Ce(La)In2 alloys
Hydrogen liquefaction
Magnetocaloric effect
Rare earths
Specific heat measurements
Descripción
Sumario:Gas liquefiers allow efficient transport and storage of gases, key for the development of new energy vectors such as hydrogen fuel. In this sense, magnetic liquefiers based on the magnetocaloric effect are an energy-saving and sustainable alternative to current systems based on the Joule-Thomson expansion. Here, we report the magnetocaloric effect of light rare-earth-based Ce(La)In2 alloys near the hydrogen condensation point. They exhibit a first-order ferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase transition with reduced thermal hysteresis (0.05 K) and moderate criticality compared to their heavy rare-earth-based counterparts. Both isothermal entropy change, and adiabatic entropy change have been indirectly determined from heat capacity measurements. A previously developed method based on low-temperature truncation of heat capacity data was applied for those calculations, accounting for 8% underestimation of the maximum values as well as possible misinterpretations of the results in the paramagnetic range. The parent CeIn2 alloy shows an isothermal entropy change of 9.5 J/(kg·K) and an adiabatic temperature change of 2.8 K for a magnetic field change of 5 T. The substitution of Ce by La leads to a slight decrease of the transition temperature in the explored range together with a significant reduction of the magnetocaloric magnitudes: about −1.0 J/(kg·K) and about −0.2 K per atom fraction of La for the isothermal entropy and adiabatic temperature changes for 5 T, respectively.