Magnetic Properties and Magnetocaloric Effect of Fe90-xNdxZr10Rapidly Quenched Alloys

In this paper, we present the results of a systematic study of Fe90-xNdxZr10 (x = 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) alloy ribbons with a thickness of similar to 15 mu m, which were prepared by melt-spinning on a single roller system. X-ray diffraction patterns of the ribbons manifest their almost amorphous structure. Magnetization measurements show that the Curie temperature of the alloy can be tuned from 262 to 350 K by varying Nd concentration. Saturation magnetization of the alloy is found to increase with increasing Nd concentration. All the ribbons reveal a soft magnetic behavior with low coercivity (H-c < 30 Oe). The ribbons exhibit large magnetocaloric effect (vertical bar Delta S-m vertical bar(max) > 1.6 J.kg(-1).K-1 for a magnetic field change of 12 kOe) at room temperature. In addition, a large working temperature range ((TFWHM)-T-delta > 60 K) is found, which together with the large magnetic entropy change yields the large cooling efficiency desirable for active magnetic refrigeration.