| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1614087 | Journal of Alloys and Compounds | 2013 | 5 Pages |
•The single-phase formation process of La(Fe0.89Si0.11)13 was investigated.•The NaZn13-type single-phase is obtained by annealing for 300 h at 1323 K.•The Curie temperature is increased by annealing due to compositional homogenization.•The isothermal magnetic entropy change was related to the microstructure.•The peak position of the isothermal magnetic entropy change is affected by annealing.
By annealing at 1323 K, the single-phase formation process of La(Fe0.89Si0.11)13 with a cubic NaZn13-type structure was investigated. A dendritic microstructure composed of an α-Fe phase with a mean size of about 10 μm and a LaFeSi phase in the as-solidified state is completely changed into the NaZn13-type single-phase by annealing for 300 h. The growth of the NaZn13-type phase is steep up to an annealing time ta = 100 h, and then becomes sluggish. As a result, the maximum isothermal magnetic entropy change, ΔSmmax, markedly increases with increasing ta up to 100 h in response to the formation of the NaZn13-type phase. In addition, the position of ΔSmmax shifts to higher temperature ranges due to the increase of the Curie temperature TC. Accordingly, thorough annealing for the single-phase formation of La(FexSi1−x)13 is important for high-performance magnetic refrigerants.
