Magnetocaloric materials

Magnetic refrigeration, especially at room temperature, is based on the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) and shows undeniable advantages in terms of efficiency without the use of greenhouse effect gases such as HFC. The development needs of the system, in particular the optimization of specific magnetic materials with high magnetocaloric performances from which it is possible to get a maximum output thanks to high applied magnetic fields produced by powerful permanent magnets (e.g. Neodymium-Iron-Boron). The effective application of such materials also needs rapid magnetisation-demagnetisation processes, a large caloric power for optimised thermal exchanges and an excellent corrosion resistance.This article provides the current state of research regarding the promising magnetocaloric materials for refrigeration. After the initial part which is dedicated to the context of this research, a more detailed description follows regarding the MCE and its experimental determination. The third part, which is the most important, is devoted to the properties and performances of the different compounds which are studied on account of their high performances. Finally availability and implementation are discussed and existing refrigeration systems.