Enhanced Curie temperature and cooling efficiency in melt-extracted Gd50(Co69.25Fe4.25Si13B13.5)50 microwires

We report enhancements of both Curie temperature and magnetic refrigerant capacity in Gd50(Co69.25Fe4.25Si13B13.5)50 microwires, which were fabricated by the melt-extraction method. For a field change of 5 T, the maximum magnetic entropy change (−ΔSMmax), the refrigerant capacity (RC) and relative cooling power (RCP) reached high values of 6.56 J kg−1 K−1, 625 J kg−1 and 826 J kg−1, respectively. While the RC is similar to those of our previously reported GdAlCo microwires, a much broader working temperature range of ∼126 K and a higher Curie temperature of 170 K make the Gd50(Co69.25Fe4.25Si13B13.5)50 microwires more attractive for active magnetic refrigeration.