A strategy for improving inherent brittleness without significantly sacrificing the magnetocaloric effect in a Ni-Mn-Sn Heusler alloy

Qiang Zhai, Fan Bu, Yuhao Cheng, Jiaqi Zhang, Yixuan He

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The eutectic design, a prevalent strategy for enhancing mechanical properties, aims to address the poor workability caused by the high brittleness of L21 intermetallic phase in Ni-Mn-Sn Heusler alloy as a promising material for solid-state refrigeration. In this study, a eutectic composition of Ni48Co10Mn32Sn10 with a fully L21/γ lamellar structure significantly improves mechanical properties, reaching 1950 MPa fracture strength and 20.5 % ductility. However, the desired magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is completely inhibited due to a strong Kurdyumov and Sachs orientation relationship (K-S OR) between eutectic phases. To overcome these challenges, a solution to precipitate primary L21 phase is proposed. This approach breaks the K-S OR by promoting epitaxial growth of the L21 eutectic phase on the primary L21 phase. Consequently, the hypoeutectic Ni48Co8Mn34Sn10 composition achieves an excellent balance between MCE and mechanical properties, with a maximum magnetic entropy change of 10.13 J kg−1 K−1 under 5 T magnetic field, 1894 MPa fracture strength, and 18.4 % ductility. Our strategy overcomes inherent brittleness without significantly sacrificing the magnetocaloric effect within Ni-Mn-Sn alloys. This study is pivotal for optimizing the structural design and properties of Ni-Mn based Heusler alloys.

Original languageEnglish
Article number173246
JournalJournal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials
Volume629
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Oct 2025

Keywords

  • Eutectic design
  • Heusler alloy
  • K-S orientation relationship
  • Magnetocaloric effect
  • Mechanical property

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