Magnetic Materials and Devices for the 21st Century: Stronger, Lighter, and More Energy Efficient

Abstract

A new energy paradigm, consisting of greater reliance on renewable energy sources and increased concern for energy efficiency in the total energy lifecycle, has accelerated research into energy-related technologies. Due to their ubiquity, magnetic materials play an important role in improving the efficiency and performance of devices in electric power generation, conditioning, conversion, transportation, and other energy-use sectors of the economy. This review focuses on the state-of-the-art hard and soft magnets and magnetocaloric materials, with an emphasis on their optimization for energy applications. Specifically, the impact of hard magnets on electric motor and transportation technologies, of soft magnetic materials on electricity generation and conversion technologies, and of magnetocaloric materials for refrigeration technologies, are discussed. The synthesis, characterization, and property evaluation of the materials, with an emphasis on structure-property relationships, are discussed in the context of their respective markets, as well as their potential impact on energy efficiency. Finally, considering future bottlenecks in raw materials, options for the recycling of rare-earth intermetallics for hard magnets will be discussed.

Magnetic properties of(Fe1−xCox)2Balloys and the effect of doping byEdström1, Werwiński2, Iuşan3 et al. 2015Phys. Rev. B

“…Permanent magnets are used in a wide range of applications, for example in data storage, energy conversion, magnetic refrigeration, and wind power generators, to name just a few [1]. The determining properties of the quality of permanent magnet materials are the operating temperature range and, primarily, the energy product.…”

Stable magnetostructural coupling with tunable magnetoresponsive effects in hexagonal ferromagnets

“…T he ferromagnetic martensitic transition (FMMT) [1][2][3] , a coinciding crystallographic and magnetic transition mainly found in Fe-based and Heusler ferromagnetic alloys, is receiving increasing attention from both the magnetism and the material science community due to the massive variations of associated magnetoresponsive effects, such as magnetic-field-induced shape memory/strain effect [4][5][6][7] , magnetoresistance 8,9 , Hall effect 10 and magnetocaloric effect 11,12 . These effects are of interest for many potential technological applications like magnetic actuators 13,14 , sensors 15 , energy-harvesting devices 16 and solid-state magnetic refrigeration 17 .…”

Inverse barocaloric effect in the giant magnetocaloric La–Fe–Si–Co compound

“…Here we report on the barocaloric eff ect of the giant magnetocaloric material LaFe 11.33 Co 0.47 Si 1.2 . La(Fe,Si) 13, and the derived quaternary compounds are considered nowadays to be the most promising working materials for magnetic refrigeration technology 11,12 . Th ey feature relatively large entropy changes with a very low hysteresis and do not contain toxic materials.…”