Magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of Pr2-xNdxFe17 ribbons

Abstract

The structural, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of Fe deficient Pr2-xNdxFe17 (x = 0.5, 0.7) alloys prepared by arc-melting and melt-spinning have been investigated. The room temperature x-ray diffraction patterns show that the samples are nearly single-phase and crystallize in the rhombohedral Th2Zn17-type crystal structure. The Curie temperatures determined from the thermomagnetic curves are 302 K and 307 K for Pr1.5Nd0.5Fe17 and Pr1.3Nd0.7Fe17, respectively. The peak magnetic entropy change and the relative cooling power at field change of 50 kOe are 3.01 J/kgK and 345 J/kg for Pr1.5Nd0.5Fe17, and 4.31 J/kgK and 487 J/kg for Pr1.3Nd0.7Fe17, respectively. The absence of magnetic and thermal hysteresis with relatively high cooling efficiency suggests that the alloys have potential for magnetic refrigeration.