Impact of amorphization on the magnetic state and magnetocaloric properties of Gd3Ni

Rapid quenching and ball milling have been used to modify the magnetic state and magnetocaloric properties of the intermetallic compound Gd3Ni. The melt-spun and ball-milled Gd3Ni samples are found to exhibit a soft ferromagnetic-like behavior below 120 K, whereas in the crystalline state, the Gd3Ni compound is an antiferromagnet with a Neel temperature of about 99 K. The reduced value of the saturation magnetization observed in amorphous Gd3Ni samples is ascribed to the appearance of a magnetic moment on Ni atoms. After amorphization, the Gd3Ni samples exhibit substantially improved magnetocaloric properties in a low field region in comparison with crystalline Gd3Ni.