Magnetocaloric effect and other low-temperature properties of Pr2Pt2In

We report on X-ray diffraction, electrical transport, heat capacity and magnetocaloric effect measurements of a polycrystalline sample of ${\mathrm{Pr}}_2{\mathrm{Pt}}_2\mathrm{In}$. The compound forms in the tetragonal ${\mathrm{Mo}}_2{\mathrm{FeB}}_2$ type structure and orders ferromagnetically at T_C=9 K. In the ordered state, its thermodynamic and electrical transport properties are dominated by magnon contributions with an energy gap of about 8 K in the spin-wave spectrum. The magnitude of magnetocaloric effect is similar to the values reported for most rare-earth based intermetallics. Characteristic behavior of the isothermal magnetic entropy change maximum points to a second-order character of the ferromagnetic phase transition in the compound studied.