Abstract:The effect of sintering temperature on the structure, magnetic transition and magnetic entropy ofLa_0.6Ca_0.4MnO₃ manganite wasstudied. It was observed that this compound belongsto the orthorhombic structure with the Pnma space group without any impurity phase. The effect of sintering temperatureon the Curie temperature (T_C) was studied. The small increment inT_Cis found with increasing the sintering temperature. The magnetocaloric study exposes a quite large change of the magnetic entropy, which varies with sintering temperature. For an applied magnetic field of 3 T and sintering temperature of 1300 °C, the relative cooling power (RCP) is89 J/kg. As a result, the studied compound can be considered as potential material for magnetic refrigeration near and below room temperature.

Key words: manganite; magnetocaloric effect; sintering temperature;colossal magnetoresistance