Magnetic and Magnetocaloric Properties of High-Energy Ball-Milled Nanocrystalline CeMn₂Ge₂ Compound

CeMn₂Ge₂ nanopowders have been obtained by high-energy ball milling for 5 and 10 hours from bulk compound to investigate the effect of milling time on magnetic and magnetocaloric properties. CeMn₂Ge₂ nanopowders have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and magnetization measurements. The average grain size of the nanoparticles from XRD measurements is about 12.2 and 8 nm for 5-hour and 10-hour ball-milled samples, respectively. The investigations reveal that magnetic entropy change (∆S _m) can be altered by changing the particle size of the compound. Maximum ∆S _m is −2.45 and −1.30 J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹ for the 5- and 10-hour ball-milled nanopowders, respectively.