Anomalous microstructure and magnetocaloric properties in off-stoichiometric La–Fe–Si and its hydride

In the present work we reported the phase formation, microstructure, magnetocaloric effect and hydrogenation behavior of La-rich La1.7Fe11.6Si1.4alloy. In this off-stoichiometric La（Fe,Si）13alloy, the Na Zn13-type La（Fe,Si）13matrix phase shows faceted grains, with the Cr5B3-type La5Si3 used as the secondary phase distributed intergranularly. Such a peculiar morphology quickly forms upon one day annealing. In La1.7Fe11.6Si1.4alloy, we have observed a significant field dependence of magnetostructural transition temperature（～ 6.3 K/T）, resulting in a large and table-like entropy change（△S～ 18 J/kg·K in 2 T） over a broad temperature range（～ 10 K）. Upon hydrogenation, the maximum value of △S keeps almost unchanged, while the Curie temperature increases up to 350 K. These results indicate that the investigated offstoichiometric La（Fe,Si）13alloy is a promising magnetic material for magnetic refrigerators.

Research Advance on Magnetocaloric Effect of La-Fe-M(Al, Si) Compounds

Recent research progress on magnetocaloric effect of La-Fe-M (M = Al, Si) compounds was presented. La-Fe-M (M = Al, Si) compounds of high Fe content are excellent soft magnetic materials with NaZn13 structure. The Curie temperature of the compounds can be increased by substituting small amount of Co for Si, Al. The La(Fe1-xCoy)(x)Si13-x compounds with an appropriate ratio of Co and Si can produce giant magnetocaloric effect comparable to that for Gd5Si2Ge2 at room temperature. The La (FexSi1-x)(13) doped with H can also produce giant magnetocaloric effect at room temperature, which is much greater than that for Gd. For La (FexSi1-x)(13) compounds with low Si or high Si contents. The nature of phase transition near Curie temperature induced by temperature and magnetic field was described in detail.

Magnetocaloric properties of phenolic resin bonded La(Fe,Si)13-based plates and its use in a hybrid magnetic refrigerator

We present a simple hot press-based method for processing La(Fe,Si)13-based compounds consisting of La–Fe–Co–Si–C particles and phenolic resin. The magnetic entropy change △S per unit mass for the La Fe_(10.87)Co_(0.63)Si_(1.5)C_(0.2)/phenolic resin compounds have nearly the same magnitude with the base materials. With the content of phenolic resin of 5.0 wt%, the compound conductivity is 3.13 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1). In order to measure the cooling performance of La(Fe,Si)13-based compounds,the La(Fe_(11.6-x)Co_(x))Si_(1.4)C_(0.15)(x =0.60, 0.65, 0.75, 0.80, 0.85)/phenolic resin compounds were pressed into thin plates and tested in a hybrid refrigerator that combines the active magnetic refrigeration effect with the Stirling cycle refrigeration effect. The test results showed that a maximum cooling power of 41 W was achieved over a temperature span of 30 K.

Rare Earths and Magnetic Refrigeration

Magnetic refrigeration is a revolutionary, efficient, environmentally friendly cooling technology, which is on the threshold of commercialization. The magnetic rare earth materials are utilized as the magnetic refrigerants in most cooling devices, and for many cooling application the Nd2Fe14B permanent magnets are employed as the source of the magnetic field. The status of the near room temperature magnetic cooling was reviewed.

Effects of Pr substitution on the hydrogenating process and magnetocaloric properties of La1-xPrxFe11.4Si1.6Hy hydrides

In this paper, we study the effects of Pr substitution on the hydrogenating process and magnetocaloric properties of La（1-x）PrxFe11.4Si1.6Hy hydrides. The powder x-ray diffraction patterns of the La1-xPrxFe11.4Si1.6 and its hydrides show that each of the alloys is crystallized into the single phase of cubic Na Zn13-type structure. There are hydrogen-absorbing plateaus under 0.4938 MPa and 0.4882 MPa in the absorbing curves for the La0.8Pr0.2Fe11.4Si1.6 and La0.6Pr0.4Fe11.4Si1.6 compounds. The releasing processes lag behind the absorbing process, which is obviously different from the coincidence between absorbing and releasing curves of the La Fe11.4Si1.6 compound. The remnant hydrogen content for La0.6Pr0.4Fe11.4Si1.6 is significantly more than that for La0.8Pr0.2Fe11.4Si1.6 after hydrogen desorption, indicating that more substitutions of Pr for La are beneficial to retaining more hydrogen atoms in the alloys. The values of maximum magnetic entropy change are 14.91 J/kg·K and 17.995 J/kg·K for La0.8Pr0.2Fe11.4Si1.6H0.13 and La0.6Pr0.4Fe11.4Si1.6H0.87,respectively.

La-Fe-M(M=Al,Si)化合物磁热性能研究进展

介绍了La Fe M(M=Al,Si)化合物在磁热性能研究方面的最新进展。具有NaZn13型晶体结构,含高浓度Fe的La Fe M(M=Al,Si)化合物为良好的软磁材料;用少量的Co替代化合物中Si,Al元素可以将化合物的居里温度提高至室温;对La(Fe1-yCoy)xSi13-x化合物,适量的Si,Co组合可使化合物在室温产生可与Gd5Si2Ge2比拟的磁热效应;加入适量的间隙原子H,也可使La(FexSi1-x)13在室温的磁热性能远远大于金属Gd;对含Si量低及含Si量高的La(FexSi1-x)13化合物在相转变点附近由温度和磁场诱导相变的本质做了详细阐述。

NaZn_(13)型La(Fe,Si)_(13)磁制冷材料的研究进展

NaZn13型晶体结构的La(Fe,Si)13化合物由于具有原料价格低廉、磁热效应巨大、环保等优点而备受关注,已经成为国际上公认的最有潜力的室温磁制冷材料之一。本文系统介绍了La(Fe,Si)13化合物的结构和磁热性能,阐述了吸氢、吸氮,稀土元素、Co、B、C、Ca等替代元素对该系列化合物结构和磁热性能的影响,评述了最新的La(Fe,Si)13化合物的制备和加工工艺,最后展望了La(Fe,Si)13化合物作为磁制冷材料的发展趋势。

稀土基室温磁工质的开发与磁制冷机的研究进展

作为一种固态制冷技术,室温磁制冷技术具有环境友好、能效高、运行可靠等优点,被公认有望替代传统的气体压缩制冷。磁制冷技术利用磁工质的磁热效应和主动式磁蓄冷技术实现制冷,主要集中于具有大磁热效应的磁工质的研发、永磁系统的设计以及换热系统的优化。二十世纪末至今,中国、美国、丹麦、德国、意大利、法国、斯洛文尼亚等国家先后开展了磁制冷方面的相关研究。本研究主要综述了现已在磁制冷机中取得应用的室温磁工质和室温磁制冷机所能达到的性能指标。已取得应用的室温磁工质可分为一级相变材料和二级相变材料,一级相变材料主要指La(Fe,Si)_(13)基化合物,二级相变材料主要是金属Gd及其合金,为室温磁制冷机中普遍采用的磁工质。根据运行方式的不同,室温磁制冷机可分为往复式磁制冷机和旋转式磁制冷机。从运行频率、磁工质、温跨、制冷能力等方面,本研究对比了不同典型的室温磁制冷机的性能。