New perspectives in magnetocaloric research

Refrigeration and temperature control involve a significant fraction of the electricity consumption nowadays. Energy efficient, environmental friendly procedures of thermal management will therefore have a direct impact on the sustainability of our way of life. Magnetocaloric refrigeration is considered among the promising technologies to achieve this goal [1]. However, appliances are not in the consumer market yet due to relevant limitations of the active materials.

 

This talk will start with an overview of the magnetocaloric effect and its applications, followed by a description of two new types of materials with a promising future in magnetocaloric research. On the one hand, we will present a novel fabrication procedure for the obtention of homogeneous composite filaments for additive manufacturing and we will demonstrate that the magnetocaloric response of the fillers is not affected by the manufacturing procedure [2]. On the other hand, we will also pay attention to magnetocaloric High Entropy Alloys, for which a directed search strategy has allowed us to close the gap between traditional HEA and high performing  magnetocaloric materials [3-5].

 

[1] V. Franco, J.S. Blázquez, J.J. Ipus, J.Y. Law, L.M. Moreno-Ramírez, A.Conde, Prog. Mater. Sci. 93 (2018) 112

[2] Á. Díaz-García, J. Revuelta, L.M. Moreno-Ramírez, J.Y. Law, C. Mayer, V. Franco, Composites Communications 35 (2022) 101352

[3] J.Y. Law, Á. Díaz-García, L.M. Moreno-Ramírez, V. Franco, Acta Materialia 212 (2021) 116931.

[4] J.Y. Law, V. Franco, APL Mater. 9, (2021) 080702

[5] J.Y. Law, V. Franco, Journal of Materials Research (2022)