Magnetocaloric effect in as-cast Gd1−xYx alloys with x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4

In this report, we present the magnetocaloric effect of Gd1−xYx alloys (0.0 ≤ × ≤ 0.4) prepared by arc-melting from high purity Gd and Y precursors in inert atmosphere. The formation of Gd1−xYx solid solutions was verified by means of X-ray diffraction analysis across the compositional series; also, residual secondary phases Gd and Y were present. Magnetic characterization performed by Vibrating Sample Magnetometry at a maximum applied field of 3.0 T showed a drastic reduction of the magnetization saturation (from 233 emu/g for x = 0.0 to 183 emu/g for x = 0.4), due to a dilution effect of the Y alloying, together with a marked Curie temperature decrease from 296 K to 196 K between x = 0.0 and x = 0.4. The second-order character of the magnetic transition was established by Arrot plots for all the cases. On the other hand, the magnetic entropy variation, determined from numerical integration of Maxwell relation displayed excellent values above 5.30 J/kg K for alloys with x < 0.3 due to the steep transitio...