Investigation of field-controlled magnetocaloric switching and magnetodielectric phenomena in spin-chain compound Er2BaNiO5

The Haldane spin-chain compound Er2BaNiO5 has been known to possess magnetoelectric coupling below the magnetic ordering temperature. Here we report various low-temperature magnetic and magnetocaloric properties, and magnetodielectric effect above magnetic ordering temperature in this compound. The present compound displays a coexistence of conventional and inverse magnetocaloric effects with a large entropy change of 5.9 and −2.5 J/kg K, respectively. Further, it exhibits a remarkable switching between them, which can be tuned with temperature and magnetic field. In addition, evolution of two magnetic field-dependent metamagnetic transitions at 19.7 and 27.7 kOe, and their correlation with magnetocaloric switching effect, make this compound effective for potential applications. On the other hand, demonstration of intrinsic magnetodielectric effect (1.9%) near and above antiferromagnetic ordering temperature, through a moderate coupling between electric dipoles and magnetic spins, establishes this compound as a useful candidate for future research. A detailed analysis of these findings, in a framework of different magnetic interactions and magnetocrystalline anisotropies, is discussed here. Overall, these results may provide a future pathway to tune the magnetic, magnetodielectric, and magnetocaloric properties in this compound toward better application potential.

Deciphering the Structural Characterization, Hirshfeld Surface Analysis, Raman Studies, and Temperature-Dependent Magnetodielectric Properties of BiMn2O5

We investigate the structural, Hirshfeld surface, magnetic, and magnetodielectric properties of BiMn2O5. The sample can be indexed with an orthorhombic phase associated with space group Pbam, with crystallographic parameters a = 7.54946 Å, b = 8.54962 Å and c = 5.753627 Å. The Hirshfeld surface analysis, associated with 2D fingerprint plots, was used to visualize and explore the significant intermolecular interactions in the crystal structure quantitatively. The Raman spectra, measured from 6 to 300 K in a frequency range between 250 and 750 cm−1, exhibit good agreement between the SHELL model calculations and the experimental measurement of the proximity of the phonon frequencies for our sample. Furthermore, magnetic measurements show that BiMn2O5 becomes antiferromagnetic below the Néel temperature (TN)—the temperature above which an antiferromagnetic material becomes paramagnetic (TN = 31 K). The relaxation at intermediate temperatures (200–300 K) can be attributed to the polar jump process at two charge transfer sites between the Mn3+ and Mn4+ ions, which, in combination with the special arrangement of the Mn3+/Mn4+ ions, is likely to produce the strong intrinsic magnetodielectric effect (MD) in the same temperature range.