Improvement of Curie temperature and magnetic entropy change of a Fe88Zr8B4 metallic glass by minor Nd substitution

A small amount of Zr in the Fe88Zr8B4 metallic glass (MG) was replaced by Nd and the fully amorphous Fe88Zr8-xNdxB4 (x = 2, 4) ribbons were successfully fabricated. The influences of Nd substitution on the glass formability, Curie temperature and magnetic entropy change (- & UDelta;Sm) of a Fe88Zr8B4 MG were investigated. It was found that the minor Nd substitution not only results in the improved glass formability, but also enhances the - & UDelta;Sm peak to -3.65 J/(kgxK) at 314 K for x = 2, and to -4.10 J/(kgxK) at 335 K for x = 4 under 5 T. The mechanisms for the weak spin-glass-like behavior and the improvement of - & UDelta;Sm induced by minor Nd substitution were investigated.