Giant and anisotropic magnetocaloric effect in antiferromagnetic single crystalline DySb

Magnetocaloric effect has been studied for antiferromagnetic single crystalline DySb, by measuring the temperature (T) and magnetic field (H) dependences of magnetization in the range 2≤T≤300K and 0≤H≤7T with field along the [100] and the [110] direction. The magnetic entropy change caused by a field change of 5 T is as larger as -36.4 J kg^-1 K ^-1 for H//[110] around 11 K, which is a value much greater than that reported for the polycrystalline sample. The magnetocaloric effect is further found to be anisotropic. Above TN (=10 K), the entropy change is much larger for H//[110] than for H//[100]. In contrast, the entropy change is positive below TN, and it is significantly lower for H//[110] than for H//[100]. Our results indicate that DySb is a typical material possessing giant and highly anisotropic magnetocaloric effect, and suggest that magnetic orientation could be used to enhance magnetic entropy change.