Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect of FeCrNbYB metallic glasses with high glass-forming ability

•Glass-forming ability and magnetocaloric properties were studied in FeCrNbYB alloys.•Bulk metallic glasses with diameters up to 5 mm were obtained in the alloy system.•These metallic glasses exhibit TC of 271–367 K and |ΔSMpk| of 0.76–1.05 J/kg K in 1.5 T.

The influences of Cr addition on the Curie temperature (TC), glass-forming ability (GFA), and magnetocaloric effect were investigated in FeCrNbYB metallic glasses. It was found that the addition of Cr element slightly decreases the GFA and saturation magnetization, whereas effectively modulates TC. By the method of copper mold casting, bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with critical diameters up to 5 mm can be obtained in Fe68−xCrxNb4Y6B22 (x = 2–6) alloys. The resulting metallic glasses exhibit TC of 271–367 K and excellent magnetocaloric properties, including magnetic entropy change of 0.76–1.05 J/kg K, and refrigerant capacity of 83–93 J/kg under a low field change of 1.5 T. In addition, they exhibit a wide supercooled liquid region of 116–135 K. The successful synthesis of the FeCrNbYB BMGs with near room-temperature magnetocaloric properties is encouraging for the future development of Fe-based BMGs as a new magnetic refrigerant in magnetic cooling system.