The impact of B substitution in Ni50Mn35In15-xBx Heusler alloys with x = (0, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.1 1.5, and 2) on the structural, magnetic, transport, and parameters of magnetocaloric effect has been studied by means of room temperature XRD-diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermomagnetic measurements (in a magnetic field up to 5 T and temperature interval 5-400 K). Direct adiabatic temperature (ΔTAD) measurements have been carried out for an applied magnetic field change (ΔH) of 1.8 T. The partial substitution of In by B in Ni50Mn35In15-xBx Heusler alloys induced a non-linear temperature shift of the magnetostructural transition while Curie temperature (TC) was found to be nearly constant (TC ~ 320 K) for all compounds. The transition temperatures (T-x) phase diagram has been constructed for H = 0.005 T. The MCE parameters were found to be larger or comparable to parameters observed in other MCE materials, such as Ni50Mn34.8In14.2B and Ni50Mn35In14X (X=In, Al, and Ge) Heusler alloys. It has been demonstrated that the martensitic transformation temperature and the corresponding ∆SM can be tuned through a slight variation in composition of B in NiMnInB alloys. A magnetoresistance associated with martensitic transformation was found to be -60% for x = 0.75 at T = 240 K for a magnetic field change of 5 T. The maximum absolute value of ΔTAD = 2.5 K was observed at the magnetostructural transition for Ni50Mn35In14.5B0.5. The roles of the magnetic and structural changes on the transition temperatures are discussed.

The magnetocaloric and thermomagnetic properties of the Ni1-xCrxMnGe1.05 (for x = 0, 0.035, 0.070, 0.105, 0.110, 0.115, and 0.120) system have been studied by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), resistivity and magnetization measurements. A change in crystal structure from orthorhombic to hexagonal was observed in the XRD data with an increase in chromium concentrations. The values of the cell parameters and volume of the unit cell for hexagonal phase were determined. It was found that the partial substitution of Cr for Ni in Ni1-xCrxMnGe1.05 results in a first order magnetostructural transition from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic (FM) at TM of about132 K, 100 K, and 110 K for x= 0.105, 0.115, and 0.120, respectively. A FM to paramagnetic second order transition has been observed at TC around 200K. A magnetic entropy change of = 4.5 J/kg K, 5.6 J/Kg K, and 5.06 J/Kg K was observed in the vicinity of TC for x = 0.105, 0.115, and 0.120 respectively at ΔH = 5T. The values of the latent heat and corresponding total entropy changes have been determined from Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) measurements. Magnetoresistance values of about -5% were measured near TC for x =0.105. The maximum value of refrigeration capacity (RC) and relative cooling power (RCP) was found to be 155 J/Kg and 175 J/Kg respectively for x = 0.120. A concentration-dependent (T-x) phase diagram of transition temperatures has been constructed using the magnetic and DSC data. The structural, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of GdNi2Mnx system (for x = 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5) have been studied by x-ray diffraction and magnetization measurements. A mixture of the Laves phase C15 and a phase with rhombohedral structure PuNi3- type (space group R m) was observed in the XRD data. A second order magnetic phase transition from ferromagnetic (FM) to paramagnetic (PM) was found, characterized by a long-range exchange interaction as predicted by mean field theory. The maximum value of magnetic entropy changes, -∆SM, near TC for ∆H = 5T, was found to be 3.1 J/KgK, 2.8 J/KgK, 2.9 J/KgK, and 2.5 J/Kg K for x = 0.8, 1.2, 1.4, and 1.5 respectively. In spite of the low values of ΔSM, the RC and RCP value was found to be 176 J/Kg and 220 J/Kg for the GdNi2Mn0.8 compound, respectively.

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New magnetocaloric Heusler alloys with larger magnetocaloric effects need to function in relatively low applied magnetic fields ≤ 1 T. Therefore, the emphasis of this Ph.D. thesis was to understand how the first order magnetostructural transformation in Mn-rich Ni-based rare-earth free magnetocaloric Heusler alloys works and to use this understanding for the design of new Mn-rich Ni-based rare-earth free magnetocaloric Heusler alloys. In this context, the rare-earth free, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly Heusler series: Ni2−xMn1+xSn, Mn50Ni50−ySny, and Ni-(Co-)Mn-In were systematically studied. In detail, it pointed out that in the Heusler series Ni2−xMn1+xSn, the structure and the disorder character can be predicted by using simple rules. On the other hand, an isoplethal section of the Heusler series Mn50Ni50−ySny was derived, which is very useful for the design of new magnetocaloric materials. In addition to it, in the Heusler alloy Ni49.9Mn34.5In15.6 a large saturated magnetic moment and a reversible magnetocaloric effect at its purely second order magnetic phase transition was present, which is in reasonable agreement with ab initio calculations. Finally, the effect of post-annealing on the Heusler alloy Ni45.2Co5.1Mn36.7In13 revealed that the magnetocaloric effect could be tuned and improved significantly. Consequently, this work shows that the Heusler alloys are promising candidates for magnetocaloric applications.

New magnetocaloric Heusler alloys with larger magnetocaloric effects need to function in relatively low applied magnetic fields ≤ 1 T. Therefore, the emphasis of this Ph.D. thesis was to understand how the first order magnetostructural transformation in Mn-rich Ni-based rare-earth free magnetocaloric Heusler alloys works and to use this understanding for the design of new Mn-rich Ni-based rare-earth free magnetocaloric Heusler alloys. In this context, the rare-earth free, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly Heusler series: Ni2−xMn1+xSn, Mn50Ni50−ySny, and Ni-(Co-)Mn-In were systematically studied. In detail, it pointed out that in the Heusler series Ni2−xMn1+xSn, the structure and the disorder character can be predicted by using simple rules. On the other hand, an isoplethal section of the Heusler series Mn50Ni50−ySny was derived, which is very useful for the design of new magnetocaloric materials. In addition to it, in the Heusler alloy Ni49.9Mn34.5In15.6 a large saturated magnetic moment and a reversible magnetocaloric effect at its purely second order magnetic phase transition was present, which is in reasonable agreement with ab initio calculations. Finally, the effect of post-annealing on the Heusler alloy Ni45.2Co5.1Mn36.7In13 revealed that the magnetocaloric effect could be tuned and improved significantly. Consequently, this work shows that the Heusler alloys are promising candidates for magnetocaloric applications.