Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 July 2012
We have successfully prepared La0.5Sr0.5MnO3nanowires using a novel hydrothermal synthesis process and studied their magnetic and magnetocaloric properties. The system exhibits an inverse magnetocaloric effect (IMCE) around 175 K indicating presence of significant AFM correlation. The MCE study reveals a clear paramagnetic (PM) to ferromagnetic (FM) transition near room temperature (T ~ 325K) which is followed by onset of AFM at lower temperatures. The development of the FM-like magnetic state at low temperature is attributed to the enhanced double exchange (DE) driven ferromagnetism in AFM state as predicted by recent theoretical studies.