Observation of giant magnetocaloric effect in HoCoSi

We report the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of HoCoSi, which shows second order ferro-para magnetic transition at 14 K. It is found to exhibit a large magnetic entropy change of 13 J/kg K for a field change of 20 kOe, which increases to 20.5 J/kg K at 50 kOe. The refrigerant capacity is found to be 135 and 410 J/kg for 20 and 50 kOe, respectively. The large, low-field adiabatic temperature change (~ 3 K) and a large refrigerant capacity make this compound a suitable candidate for magnetic refrigeration applications at around 15 K.