Effect of Fe substitution on magnetocaloric effects and glass-forming ability in Gd-based metallic glasses

Abstract In this work, we report on the systematic variation of the glass-forming ability (GFA) and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in Gd 55 Co 20-x Al 24 Si 1 Fe x (x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 at%) metallic glasses (MGs), which are potential candidates for magnetocaloric cooling applications. The addition of Fe broadens the full width of half maximum of magnetic entropy change ( δT FWHM ), thereby greatly increases the refrigeration capacity (RC). Accordingly, the δT FWHM as large as 118 K, magnetic entropy change |Δ S M | of 7.26 J kg −1 K −1  at 130 K, and corresponding large RC of 857 J kg −1 under applied field of 5 T are obtained for the composition with 5 at% Fe substitution. By increasing the atomic fraction of Fe dopants, the Curie temperature T C increases systematically at the same time. Such high GFA of novel Gd-based MGs with large MCE makes them attractive candidates for magnetic refrigeration applications in the future.