3. Materials with a strong magnetocaloric effect

3.1 Classification

Materials exhibiting a significant magnetocaloric effect can be classified according to the topological form and nature of the magnetic or electronic configurations of the systems considered (ferromagnetic, spin glasses, superparamagnetic, etc.) [11] . The fundamentals and thermodynamic phenomenology of such systems are amply described in [5] . However, and with a view to the engineering of refrigeration components and machines, it is appropriate to restrict ourselves here to certain types of compounds among the most efficient, classified according to their formulation and physico-chemical characteristics....