Large magnetic refrigerant capacity in Gd71Fe3Al26 and Gd65Fe20Al15 amorphous alloys

Magnetic entropy change and refrigerant capacity of Gd-based amorphous Gd71Fe3Al26 and Gd65Fe20Al15 alloys are investigated. The refrigerant capacities reach 750 and 726 J kg−1 for Gd71Fe3Al26 and Gd65Fe20Al15, respectively, which are much larger than those of all magnetocaloric materials ever reported. The peak values of magnetic entropy change under a field change of 0–5 T are 7.4 J kg−1 K−1 at 117.5 K and 5.8 J kg−1 K−1 at 182.5 K for Gd71Fe3Al26 and Gd65Fe20Al15, respectively. A very large refrigerant capacity and a considerable magnetic entropy change jointly make them attractive candidates for magnetic refrigerant.