Research progress in magnetocaloric effect materials

Magnetocaloric effect(MCE) is the intrinsic property of a magnetic material near transition temperature and the magnetic refrigeration based on MCE has been demonstrated as a promising alternative to the conventional gas compression or expansion refrigeration due to its high energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. The development of magnetic refrigeration technology depends on the research progress of magnetic refrigerant materials with large MCEs. Lots of researches of material exploration and material optimization have promoted the progress of magnetic refrigeration technology in recent decades. In this paper, we introduce the basic theory of MCE and the development of refrigeration technology, review the research progress of large MCE materials both in low temperature range and in room temperature range, and specifically focus on the latest progress of some MCE materials. Low temperature MCE materials mainly include those rare earth based materials with low transition temperatures, such as binary alloys(RGa, RNi, RZn, RSi, R₃Co and R₁₂Co₇), ternary alloys(RTSi, RTAl, RT₂Si₂, RCo₂B₂ and RCo₃B₂), and quaternary alloys(RT₂B₂C), where R denotes the rare earth and T represents the transition metal. Those materials mainly possess the second-order phase transitions and show good thermal hysteresis, magnetic hysteresis, and thermal conductivities. Room temperature MCE materials are mainly Gd-Si-Ge intermetallic compounds, La-Fe-Si intermetallic compounds, MnAs-based compounds, Mn-based Heusler alloys, Mn-based antiperovskite compounds, Mn-Co-Ge intermetallic compounds, Fe-Rh compounds, and perovskite-type oxides. The above materials usually have the first-order phase transitions and most of these materials possess the large MCEs in room temperature range, therefore they have received much attention home and abroad. Among those room temperature MCE materials, the La-Fe-Si series is considered to be the most promising magnetic refrigerant materials universally and our country has independent intellectual property rights of them. The further development prospects of MCE materials are also discussed at the end of this paper.