Magnetocaloric effect observations near room temperature in few-layered chromium telluride (Cr2Te3)

Transition metal telluride compositions are explored extensively for their unique magnetic behavior. Few-layered chromium telluride (Cr2Te3) exhibits a near-room-temperature phase transition, where the material can be effectively used in applications such as magnetic refrigeration. Compared to existing magnetocaloric materials, Heusler alloys, and rare-earth-based alloys, the large-scale synthesis of mechanically exfoliated Cr2Te3 involves less complexity, resulting in a stable composition. Compared to existing tellurides, Cr2Te3 exhibited a large change in magnetic entropy (|ΔSM|) of 1.88 J kg−1 K−1 at a magnetic field of 4 T. A refrigeration capacity (RC) of ∼82 J kg−1 was determined from the change in magnetic entropy versus temperature curve. The results were comparable with those for existing Cr-based compounds. First-principles density functional theory (DFT) confirmed the magnetic properties of Cr2Te3, including a near-room-temperature Curie temperature, TC, consistent with experimental results. Structural transition was also observed using first-principles DFT, which is responsible for the magnetic behavior.