Gas-atomized particles of giant magnetocaloric compound HoB $$_{2}$$ 2 for magnetic hydrogen liquefiers

The processing of promising magnetocaloric materials into spheres is one of the important issues on developing high-performance magnetic refrigeration systems. In the present study, we achieved in producing spherical particles of a giant magnetocaloric compound HoB $$_{2}$$ by a crucible-free gas atomization process, despite its high melting point of 2350 $$^{\circ }$$ C. The particle size distribution ranges from 100 to 710 $$\upmu$$ m centered at 212–355 $$\upmu$$ m with the highest yield of 14–20 wt% of total melted electrode, which is suitable for magnetic refrigeration systems. The majority of the resulting particles are mostly spherical with no contamination during the processing, while unique microstructures are observed on the surface and inside. These spherical particles exhibit sharp magnetic transitions and huge magnetic entropy change of 0.34 J cm $$^{-3}$$ K $$^{-1}$$ for a magnetic field change of 5 T at 15.5 K. The high sphericality and the high magnetocaloric performance suggest that the HoB $$_{2}$$ gas-atomized particles have good potential as magnetic refrigerants for use in magnetic refrigerators for hydrogen liquefaction.