The magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is currently intensively
investigated
in various rare earths (RE)-containing magnetic solids,
not only for developing appropriate magnetocaloric materials (MCMs)
for cryogenic magnetic cooling but also for deepening our understanding
into the inherent physical properties of these materials. Here, we
provide a systematic experimental investigation into a series of new RE
2CuTiO6 (RE = Dy,
Ho, Er) double-perovskite (DP) oxides regarding the structural and
magnetic properties, especially for their cryogenic MCE and magnetic-phase
transition (MPT). All of these RE
2CuTiO6 oxides crystallize in a B-site-ordered hexagonal
DP-type structure with the symmetry of the crystallographic space
group P6̅m2. These DP oxides
exhibit magnetic ordering, with MPT temperatures of approximately
2.7, 2.2, and 2.7 K for Dy2CuTiO6, Ho2CuTiO6, and Er2CuTiO6, respectively.
The magnetocaloric performances of the RE
2CuTiO6 DP oxides were characterized by the peak values
of magnetic entropy change, the temperature-averaged magnetic entropy
change (5K-lift), and relative cooling powers. These magnetocaloric
parameters were deduced to be 18.7/17.9 J/kgK and 298.2 J/kg for Dy2CuTiO6, 12.5/12.2 J/kgK and 273.9 J/kg for Ho2CuTiO6, and 13.8/12.9 J/kgK and 188.4 J/kg for
Er2CuTiO6 under a magnetic field change of 0–5
T. These values are comparable to those of most reported RE-containing magnetocaloric materials, indicating that these RE
2CuTiO6 DP oxides are promising
candidates for cryogenic magnetic cooling applications.