Magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of the ternary Gd-based metallic glasses Gd₆₀Mn₃₀X₁₀, with X = Al, Ga, In

Charlotte Mayer (1) , Bernard Chevalier (1) , Stéphane Gorsse (1)

1 ICMCB - Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux

Magnetocaloric effect and refrigeration capacity (RC) of Gd₆₀Mn₃₀Ga₁₀ and Gd₆₀Mn₃₀In₁₀ melt-spun nanocomposites are investigated. It is found that the nanocrystallites formed in the amorphous matrix are different between melt-spun Gd₆₀Mn₃₀Ga₁₀ and Gd₆₀Mn₃₀In₁₀ samples. Gd₆₀Mn₃₀Ga₁₀ ribbons exhibit multiple second-order transitions in accordance to their composite nature whereas Gd₆₀Mn₃₀In₁₀ ribbons display only one magnetic transition. The occurrence of several transitions increases the gap of temperature at half maximum value of the ΔS_M magnetic entropy, thus increasing the RC values of these materials. The use of Mn as transition metal induces Curie temperature values around 170–180 K and an antiferromagnetic coupling with Gd reducing the overall magnetization compared to that calculated considering the free Gd³⁺ ion.

Mots clés: Metallic glasses; Nanocomposites; X-ray powder diffraction; Magnetocaloric effect

Domaines: Matériaux

Charlotte Mayer, Bernard Chevalier, Stéphane Gorsse. Magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of the ternary Gd-based metallic glasses Gd₆₀Mn₃₀X₁₀, with X = Al, Ga, In. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2010, 507 (2), pp.370-375. ⟨10.1016/j.jallcom.2010.07.210⟩. ⟨hal-00530391⟩