Structure and magnetic entropy change of suck-cast Gd60Co26Al6Ge8 alloy

Abstract The Gd 60 Co 26 Al 6 Ge 8 alloy has been prepared by the copper-mold suck-casting and its phase component has been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). It is shown that this alloy consists of primary crystalline Gd 5 Ge 3 phase and amorphous matrix. The glass transition temperature ( T g ) and crystallization temperatures ( T x ) occur at 292 and 320 °C, respectively. The maximal magnetic entropy change (Δ S M ) under 0–5 T field is about 7.6 J (kg −1 K −1 ) at 155 K and the refrigeration capacity (RC) is about 768 J kg −1 , which makes Gd 60 Co 26 Al 6 Ge 8 bulk metallic glass matrix composite a promising candidate for magnetic refrigerant.