Evolution of the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of Gd6YPd3 alloys originating from structural modifications

Abstract The Gd6YPd3 alloys were synthesized in various forms/structural states and with various quenching rates, utilizing mould casting and melt-spinning, in order to determine the influence of microstructure on the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties. The magnetic and magnetocaloric properties clearly depend on the grain size and structural disorder. The Curie temperature of melt-spun Gd6YPd3 is equal to 115 K although the rapidly cooled cast (rc-cast) orders ferromagnetically at 305 K. The magnetic and magnetocaloric properties clearly depend on the grain size and varying degree of structural disorder. The rc-cast Gd6YPd3 exhibits -ΔSm value of 4.13 Jkg-1K−1 and relative cooling power (RCP) value of ~ 805 J/kg, for the magnetic field changes of 0–5 T. The structurally disordered Gd6YPd3 ribbon exhibits considerable -ΔSm value reaching 8.18 Jkg-1K−1 and large RCP of ~ 891 Jkg−1. Such significant changes are caused by the modification of spatial range of the ferromagnetic and RKKY interactions.