Investigating the magnetic entropy change in single-phase Y2Fe17 melt-spun ribbons

• Single-phase Y2Fe17 melt-spun ribbons obtained with hexagonal crystal structure.
• The one-step fabrication process circumvents any high-temperature annealing.
• We compare the magnetocaloric properties of the ribbons with those for bulk alloys.
• Both the refrigerant capacity and the working temperature range enhance about 15%.

The inspection of simplified fabrication and/or processing routes in order to produce materials with attractive magnetocaloric properties is of paramount importance for the development of environmentally friendly magnetic cooling technology. In this work, we have made use of the melt-spinning technique to obtain directly single-phase Y2Fe17 polycrystalline ribbons avoiding any high-temperature annealing for phase consolidation and homogenization. The melt-spun ribbons, with hexagonal Th2Ni17-type crystal structure, exhibit a moderate maximum value of the magnetic entropy change, |ΔSMpeak| = 2.4(4.4) J kg−1 K−1 under an applied magnetic field change of 2(5) T. Although these values are similar to those for the bulk alloy, the ΔSM(T) curves are manifestly broader, thus giving rise to an expansion of the working temperature range and the enhancement of about 15% in the refrigerant capacity. We also show that the magnetic field dependence of |ΔSMpeak| at T = TC follows a H2/3 power-law.