Large reversible magnetic entropy change in rapidly solidified Ni0.895Cr0.105MnGe1.05 melt-spun ribbons

The crystal structure, and magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of rapidly solidified Ni0.895Cr0.105MnGe1.05 melt-spun ribbons is reported. The ribbon samples crystallize into a single-phase hexagonal Ni2In-type structure at room temperature. The as-quenched ribbons showed a second order magnetic transition at 192 ± 1 K at μoH = 5 mT. A magnetic-field-induced transition from an antiferromagnetic (AFM)-like to a ferromagnetic (FM) state of martensite structure was observed in annealed ribbons below the temperature of the martensitic transformation (TM ∼ 245 ± 1 K). The annealed ribbons undergo a first-order magnetostructural transition (MST) with a large maximum reversible magnetic entropy change of ΔSM = 16.1 J kg−1 K−1 (this is about a four-fold increase compared to the ΔSM observed for the bulk sample of the same nominal composition) and RC = 144 J kg−1 for μoΔH = 5 T at temperature T = TM ∼ 245 ± 1 K. The increase in the ΔSM peak value leads to an improved RC compared to that of the bulk sample (122 J kg−1). The observed MCE and quasi-reversible character of ΔSM at the MST illustrates the potential of Ni0.895Cr0.105MnGe1.05 ribbons for magnetic cooling technology.