Seminários

Magnetic refrigeration near room temperature - Materials and technology


Palestrante: Frank de Boer (Instituto Van der Waals - Zeeman da Universidade de Amsterdã)

Resumo: In the last decade, magnetic refrigeration at temperatures near room temperature has been developed as a promising alternative for the conventional vapor-cycle cooling techniques which are unfriendly for the environment. For magnetic cooling at room temperature, materials are needed that exhibit a considerable magnetocaloric effect around this temperature. For many years, the materials research has almost exclusively been focussed on rare-earth-based materials. However, the scarcity and high price of the rare-earth metals may be expected to form a serious obstacle for wide application. In the present talk, it will be shown that amongst compounds, which contain more abundant elements, like iron and manganese, promising alternatives are found. The magnetic and refrigerant properties of these compounds will be discussed and compared with other materials.