Effects of solidification rate and excessive Fe on phase formation and magnetoclaoric properties of LaFe_(11.6x)Si_(1.4)

The effects of solidification rate and excessive Fe on phase formation and magnetocaloric properties of LaFe11.6xSi1.4(x=1.1,1.2)were investigated by XRD,SEM and VSM measurements.The XRD results show that the amount of LaFeSi phase in the as-cast melt-spun ribbons prepared by a copper wheel at a speed of10m/s is less than that in the as-cast arc melting buttons with the same x values.The annealed melt-spun ribbons contain smaller amount of La(Fe,Si)13(1:13)phase than the corresponding annealed arc melting buttons.Although the melt-spun sample has finer crystalline grains ofα-Fe,as indicated by SEM analysis,its crystalline size has not reached nano-scale.Therefore,the magnetic exchange-coupling between1:13phase andα-Fe phase has not been observed in melt-spun ribbons.Further,the maximum negative magnetic entropy change(?SMax)and relative cooling power(RCP)of annealed melt-spun ribbons under a field change of0?2T are weaker than those of the corresponding annealed arc melting buttons.

1:13 phase formation mechanism and first-order magnetic transition strengthening characteristics in(La,Ce)Fe13–xSix alloys

The effects of the introduction of Ce to La（1-x）CexFe（11.5）Si（1.5） alloys on 1：13 phase formation mechanism,the first-order magnetic phase transition strengthening characteristics,and magnetocaloric property were studied,respectively.The results show that the formation mechanisms of 1：13 and La Fe Si phases in La（1-x）CexFe（11.5）Si（1.5） alloys are the same as those of Ce2Fe（17） and CeFe2 phases in Ce–Fe binary system,respectively.The substitution of Ce in 1：13 phase which is limited can make the first-order magnetic phase transition characteristics strengthen,which can make thermal and magnetic hysteresis increase,the temperature interval of temperatureinduced phase transition decrease,and the critical magnetic field of field-induced magnetic phase transition（HC）increase,respectively.Owing to the lattice shrink of 1：13phase with the increase in Ce content,the Curie temperatures（TC） show a linear decrease.The maximum change in magnetic entropy gradually increases due to the decrease in temperature interval of temperature-induced phase transition,but the relative cooling capacities are all about80 Jákg-1at magnetic field of 2 T.

Origin of high mechanical quality factor in CuO-doped （K, Na）NbO3-based ceramics

The origin of a high mechanical quality in CuO-doped （K, Na）NbO3-based ceramics is addressed by considering the correlations between the lattice positions of Cu ions and the hardening effect in K0.48Na0.52＋xNbO3-0.01CuO ceramics. The Cu ions simultaneously occupy K/Na and Nb sites of these ceramics with x = 0 and 0.02, only occupy the K/Na site of the ceramics with x= -0.02, and mostly form a secondary phase of the ceramics with x = -0.05. The Cu ions lead to the hardening of ceramics with an increase of Ec and Qm by only occupying the K/Na site, together with the formation of double hysteresis loops in un-poled compositions. A defect model is proposed to illuminate the origin of a high Qm value, that is, the domain stabilization is dominated by the content of relatively mobile O2- ions in the ceramics, which has a weak bonding with CUK/Na defects.