Current Applied Physics, Vol.18, No.12, 1523-1527, 2018
Thermal stability, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of Gd55Co35M10 (M = Si, Zr and Nb) melt-spun ribbons
The thermal stability, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of Gd55Co35M10 (M = Si, Zr and Nb) melts-pun ribbons were studied. The relatively high reduced glass transition temperature (T-x1/T-m > 0.60) and low melting point (T-m) resulted in excellent glass forming ability (GFA). The Curie temperatures (T-c) of melt-spun amorphous ribbons Gd55Co35M10 for M = Si, Zr and Nb were 166, 148 and 173 K, respectively. For a magnetic field change of 2 T, the values of maximum magnetic entropy change (-Delta S-M)(max) for Gd55Co35M10, Gd55Co35Zr10 and Gd55Co35M10 were found to be 2.86, 4.28 and 4.05 J kg(-1)K(-1), while the refrigeration capacity (RC) values were 154, 274 and 174 J kg(-1), respectively. The RCFWHM values of amorphous alloys Gd55Co35M10 (M = Si, Zr and Nb) are comparable to or larger than that of LaFe11.6Si1.4 crystalline alloy. Large values of (-Delta S-M) and RC along with good thermal stability make Gd55Co35M10 (M = Si, Zr and Nb) amorphous alloys be potential materials for magnetic cooling operating in a wide temperature range from 150 to 175 K, e.g., as part of a gas liquefaction process.