Low temperature crystal structure and magnetic properties of RAl2

Low temperature crystal structure and magnetic properties of RAl2 (R = Pr and Nd) have been studied using temperature dependent powder x-ray diffraction, magnetization, and heat capacity measurements. Unlike PrAl2, NdAl2 retains cubic MgCu2-type structure from room temperature down to 5 K, which is also confirmed from first principles electronic structure calculations. The magnetization measurements show both PrAl2 and NdAl2 order ferromagnetically at TC = 32 K and 77 K, respectively. However, the magnetization measurements show the former is a hard ferromagnet compared to the latter which is a soft ferromagnetic material. The magnetic entropy change obtained from heat capacity measurements at ΔH = 30 kOe for PrAl2 and NdAl2 are 3.15 J mol−1 K−1 and 1.18 J mol−1 K−1, respectively