Metamagnetism and Magnetocaloric Effect of LiPr(PO 3 ) 4 Crystal

We have studied the magnetic and magnetocaloric behaviors of a single crystal of LiPr(PO 3 ) 4 through DC magnetization ( M ) and heat-capacity ( C p ) measurements. The analysis of M data indicates an establishment of magnetic order at low temperatures that results in the departure of magnetic-susceptibility behavior from the Curie–Weiss law. Under the application of high magnetic fields, the antiferromagnetic ground state is unstable, leading to a first-order metamagnetic transition to a ferromagnetic phase. Because the critical field of this transition increases with increasing temperature above the Néel temperature, it is thought to be related to the spin-flop process, spin populations on multiplets, and jj -coupling. In particular, after the transition, the maximum magnetic-entropy change (Δ S max ) increases according to a power law y ∝ H n , with n = 1.54. Under an applied field H = 50 kOe, the |Δ S max | value at 2 K is about 9.8 J/kg K. Using thermodynamic relations and C p ( T , H ) data, the largest adiabatic-temperature change of LiPr(PO 3 ) 4 calculated at 2 K is about 2.8 K for the field of H = 20 kOe, which is attainable using a permanent magnet.