Magnetocaloric E!ect and Magnetic Refrigeration
Magnetocaloric E!ect and Magnetic Refrigeration
Magnetocaloric E!ect and Magnetic Refrigeration
), together with
the corresponding magnetic and non-magnetic
terms. When the magnetic "eld is applied adiabati-
cally (i.e. when the total entropy of the system
0304-8853/99/$- see front matter 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 0 4 - 8 8 5 3 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 3 9 7 - 2
Fig. 1. The S}T diagram illustrating the existence of the mag-
netocaloric e!ect. The solid lines represent the total entropy in
two di!erent magnetic "elds: H
"
"0 and H
and
.
remains constant during the magnetic "eld change)
in a reversible process, the magnetocaloric e!ect
(i.e. the adiabatic temperature rise,
"
!
"
) can be visualized as the isentropic di!er-
ence between the corresponding S()
&
functions as
shown in Fig. 1 by the horizontal arrow. The MCE
can be also expressed by means of the isothermal
magnetic entropy change (or simply magnetic en-
tropy change), S
`
"S
!S
"
, when the magnetic
"eld is applied isothermally. In the latter case it is
equal to the isothermal di!erence between the cor-
responding S()
&
functions as shown in Fig. 1 by
the vertical arrow. Therefore
and S
`
repres-
ent the two quantitative characteristics of the mag-
netocaloric e!ect, and it is obvious that both
and S
`
are functions of the initial temperature,
"
(i.e. the temperature before the magnetic "eld
was altered), and the magnetic "eld change,
H"H
!H
"
). It is easy to see (Fig. 1) that if
raising the magnetic "eld increases magnetic order
(i.e. reduces magnetic entropy, which is the case for
simple paramagnetic and ferromagnetic materials),
then
(, !H) and S
`
(, !H) are corre-
spondingly reversed when the magnetic "eld is re-
duced.
The
and S
`
are correlated with the mag-
netization (M), the magnetic "eld strength, the heat
capacity at constant pressure (C), and the absolute
temperature by one of the fundamental Maxwell's
relations [4]
RS(, H)
RH
2
"
RM(, H)
R
&
, (2)
which for an isothermal}isobaric process after in-
tegration yields
S
`
(, H)"
&`
&
RM(, H)
R
&
dH. (3)
Eq. (3) indicates that the magnetic entropy change
is proportional to the derivative of magnetization
with respect to temperature at constant "eld and to
the magnetic "eld change. By combining Eq. (2)
with the corresponding dS equation it easy to
show [4] that the in"nitesimal adiabatic temper-
ature rise for the reversible adiabatic}isobaric pro-
cess is equal to
d"!
C(, H)
&
RM(, H)
R
&
dH. (4)
Hence, the adiabatic temperature rise is directly
proportional to the absolute temperature, to the
derivative of magnetization with respect to temper-
ature at constant "eld and to the magnetic "eld
change; and it is inversely proportional to the heat
capacity. After integrating Eq. (4) one gets the value
of the magnetocaloric e!ect as
(, H)
"!
&`
&
C(, H)
&
RM(, H)
R
&
dH. (5)
Eqs. (2)}(5) have a fundamental importance on
the understanding of the behavior of the MCE in
solids, and serve as a guide for the search of new
materials with a large magnetocaloric e!ect. First,
since the magnetization at constant "eld of para-
magnets and simple ferromagnets decreases with
V.K. Pecharsky, K.A. Gschneidner Jr. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 200 (1999) 44}56 45
increasing temperature [i.e. (RM/R)
&
(0], then
S
`
()
&
should be negative (Eqs. (2) and (3)),
while
()
&
should be positive (Eqs. (4) and
(5)), which agrees with Fig. 1. Second, in ferromag-
nets "(RM/R)
&
" is the largest at the
'
, and there-
fore, "S
`
()
&
" should peak at
'
(Eqs. (2) and (3)).
Third, although it is not straightforward from Eqs.
(4) and (5) because the heat capacity at constant
"eld is also anomalous near the
'
, it has been
shown [5] that
()
&
in ferromagnets peaks at
the Curie temperature when HP0. The behavior
of
()
&
should be similar to the behavior of
"S
`
()
&
", i.e. it will be gradually reduced both
below and above the
'
. Fourth, for the same
"S
`
()
&
", the
()
&
will be larger at a higher
absolute temperature, and also when the total heat
capacity of the solid is lower (Eq. (5)). The latter
point is critical in understanding the fact that para-
magnets display signi"cant
(, H) only at
temperatures close to absolute zero, where the lim-
ited value of "(RM/R)
&
" is easily o!set by the negli-
gible lattice heat capacity. Furthermore, at high
temperatures the measurable adiabatic heating (or
cooling) is expected only if the solid orders spon-
taneously, i.e. when value of "(RM/R)
&
" becomes
signi"cant.
1.2. Measurement of the magnetocaloric ewect
The magnetocaloric e!ect can be measured dir-
ectly or it can be calculated indirectly from the
measured magnetization or "eld dependence of the
heat capacity. Direct techniques always involve
measurements of the sample temperatures (
"
and
'
) in magnetic "elds H
"
and H
'
, where subscripts
0 and F designate initial and "nal magnetic "eld,
respectively. The
()
&
is then determined as
the di!erence between
'
and
"
for a given
"
and H"H
'
!H
"
.
Direct MCE measurements can be carried out
using contact (i.e. when the temperature sensor is in
direct thermal contact with the sample) and non-
contact techniques (i.e. when the sample temper-
ature is measured without the sensor being directly
connected to the sample) [6}14]. Since during the
direct MCE measurements a rapid change of the
magnetic "eld is required, the measurements can be
carried out on immobilized samples when the mag-
netic "eld change is provided either by charg-
ing/discharging the magnet, or by moving the
sample in and out of a uniform magnetic "eld
volume. Using immobilized samples and pulse
magnetic "elds direct MCE measurements in mag-
netic "elds from 1 to 40 T have been reported. The
use of electromagnets usually limits the magnetic
"eld strength to less than 2 T. Experimental appar-
ati, where the sample or the magnet are moved to
provide the varying magnetic "eld environment
usually employ superconducting or permanent
magnets, which limit the magnetic "eld range to
0.1}10 T. The accuracy of the direct experimental
techniques depends on the errors in thermometry,
errors in "eld setting, the quality of thermal insula-
tion of the sample (this becomes a critical source of
error when the MCE is large and thus disrupts the
adiabatic conditions), the quality of the compensa-
tion scheme to eliminate the e!ect of the changing
magnetic "eld on the temperature sensor reading.
Considering all these e!ects the accuracy is claimed
to be in the 5}10% range [6}14].
Unlike the direct MCE measurements, which
only yield the adiabatic temperature change, the
indirect experiments allow the calculation of both
()
&
and S
`
()
&
*heat capacity measure-
ments, or just S
`
()
&
* magnetization measure-
ments. Magnetization measured experimentally as
a function of temperature and magnetic "eld pro-
vides S
`
()
&
after numerical integration of
Eq. (3), and has been rightfully suggested as a useful
technique for the rapid screening of prospective
magnetic refrigerant materials [15]. The accuracy
of S
`
()
&
calculated from magnetization data
depends on the accuracy of the magnetic moment,
temperature, and magnetic "eld measurements. Be-
cause numerical integration is involved, and be-
cause the exact di!erentials (dM, d, and dH) are
substituted, respectively, by the measured M, ,
and H, the typical accuracy of S
`
()
&
from
magnetization measurements is reported to be in
the range of 3}10% [15]. The relative error may
become signi"cantly larger particularly for small
"S
`
()
&
" values.
The heat capacity measured as a function of
temperature in constant magnetic "elds, C()
&
,
provides the most complete characterization of mag-
netic materials with respect to their magnetocaloric
46 V.K. Pecharsky, K.A. Gschneidner Jr. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 200 (1999) 44}56
e!ect, since the entropy of magnetic solid can be
calculated from heat capacity as
S()
&"
"
2
"
C()
"
d#S
"
and
S()
&$"
"
2
"
C()
&
d#S
"&
, (6)
where S
"
and S
"&
are the zero temperature en-
tropies. In a condensed system these are the same
(i.e. S
"
"S
"&
) [16], and therefore, the calculation
of both
()
&
and S
`
()
&
is straightforward
[17], also see Fig. 1. The accuracy of the MCE
calculations using heat capacity data is critically
dependent on the accuracy of the heat capacity
measurements and data processing (Eq. (6)) because
both
()
&
and S
`
()
&
are small di!erences
between two large quantities (temperatures and
total entropies). The error in S
`
()
&
from heat
capacity is given [17] as
S
`
()
&
"S()
&"
#S()
&$"
, (7)
where S()
&"
and S()
&$"
are the errors in the
zero magnetic "eld entropy and non-zero magnetic
"eld entropy, respectively. The error in
()
&
is also proportional to the errors in the entropy, but
it is inversely proportional to the derivative of the
entropy with respect to temperature [17]
()
&
"S()
&"
/(dS()
&"
/d)
#S()
&$"
/(dS()
&$"
/d). (8)
It should be noted that Eqs. (7) and (8) yield the
absolute uncertainty in the calculated mag-
netocaloric e!ect, and therefore, the relative errors
rise signi"cantly for small MCE values (Figs. 2
and 3). Hence, assuming that the accuracy of the
heat capacity measurements is magnetic "eld inde-
pendent, the relative error in both
()
&
and
S
`
()
&
will be reduced for larger H.
1.3. Magnetocaloric ewect in paramagnets
As mentioned above, the MCE in paramagnets is
only expected to be measurable at temperatures
close to absolute zero, where the enhanced, but still
limited "(RM/R)
&
" is easily o!set by the negligible
Fig. 2. The S
`
in Gd for a magnetic "eld change from 0 to 5 T
calculated from the experimental heat capacity data measured in
0 and 5 T magnetic "elds (open circles, left-hand scale). The
dotted lines (left-hand scale) indicate the range of absolute errors
and the solid line shows the relative error (right-hand scale).
Fig. 3. The
of &2.5 K at
"10 K for H"7 T. The presence of several
magnetic phase transitions, which occur in Er be-
tween &20 and &80 K brings about an almost
48 V.K. Pecharsky, K.A. Gschneidner Jr. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 200 (1999) 44}56
constant but quite small MCE (averaging between
4 and 5 K for a 7 T magnetic "eld change) in the
20}90 K temperature range [40]. Pure Tm orders
magnetically in a sinusoidally modulated ferromag-
netic structure at &56 K and becomes ferrimag-
netic at &32 K. These features of the Tm magnetic
structure restrict its MCE, which barely tops &3 K
at &56 K for H"7 T [41]. It has been also
observed that the MCE in Tm becomes negative
between &32 and &56 K in a weak magnetic "eld
of 1 T [41]. The main reason for these low
for
selected materials is shown in Fig. 4. It is easy to
see, that the maximum MCE is signi"cantly re-
duced as temperature rises from &10 to &80 K,
which is associated with the rapid increase of the
lattice heat capacity in these alloys. The "eld de-
pendence of the MCE in this temperature range
varies from &1 to &2 K/T.
Fig. 4. The
reaching
&12 K at &180 K for H"7 T. Similarly, as
discussed earlier for the MCE in Tm, the complex-
ity of the magnetic structure of Dy brings about
a negative MCE for small magnetic "eld changes
(H(2 T). Recent studies of amorphous R
V
(
,
`
)
V
alloys, where R is a lanthanide metal,
and
and
`
are 3d transition metals [55}58]
indicate that these materials may be useful mag-
netic refrigerant materials between 100 and 200 K.
The "eld dependence of the MCE is just under
2 K/T for Dy, but rarely reaches more than 1 K/T
for all other studied magnetocaloric materials, in-
cluding the amorphous alloys. However, a recent
study [59,60] shows that the Gd
`
(Si
V
Ge
V
)
"
alloys
for 0.08)x )0.43 have extremely large S
`
and
values at
'
are &6, 12, 16, and 20 K for H"2, 5, 7.5 and
10 T, respectively, reaching an impressive "eld de-
pendence of the MCE of &3 K/T in low magnetic
"elds which falls to &2 K/T in higher magnetic
"elds. A variety of Gd}R alloys, where R is another
lanthanide metal (such as Tb, Dy, Ho, or Er) and/or
Y were prepared in an attempt to improve the
MCE in Gd [67}74]. However, all alloying addi-
tions just shift the Curie temperature of Gd to
lower temperatures without any noticeable im-
provement in its MCE. The only known exception
is the probable enhancement of the low magnetic
"eld (H"1 T) MCE in nanocrystalline Gd}Y
alloys [75}77].
Most intermetallic compounds which order
magnetically near the room temperature but above
&290 K show a signi"cantly lower MCE than
that of Gd. A theoretical estimate [78] that the
MCE in Y
`
Fe
`
(
'
"&310 K) would be equal to
&50% of the MCE in Gd was recently veri"ed
experimentally [79]. Approximately, the same
magnitude of the MCE was also measured ex-
perimentally in Nd
`
Fe
`
with
'
"&324 K [79].
It has been suggested by [80] that there may be
an enhancement of the MCE in (Pr
`
Ce
"`
)Fe
`
,
but it has not been veri"ed experimentally. The
only intermetallic materials where the MCE
approaches that of Gd are Gd
`
Si
"
[60] with
the
'
"&335 K and germanium substituted
Gd
`
(Si
V
Ge
V
)
"
alloys, where 0.5(x)1 [59] with
&290(
'
)&335 K.
1.5. First-order magnetic phase transition and the
giant MCE
In an order}disorder magnetic phase transition
the existence of short-range order and spin #uctu-
ations well above the
'
often reduces the max-
imum possible "(RM/R)
&
" thus e!ectively reducing
the maximum MCE. A "rst-order phase trans-
formation theoretically should occur at constant
temperature, and therefore, "(RM/R)
&
" may be in"-
nitely large, consequently giving rise to a large,
i.e. giant magnetocaloric e!ect. One of the "rst
intermetallics, in which a giant, but also negative,
MCE was experimentally observed, is FeRh. It
undergoes an antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic
"rst-order phase transition at &308 K, which is
accompanied by a MCE as large as !13 K for
H"2 T [81}83]. Unfortunately the giant MCE
in FeRh is irreversible and observed only upon
the application of the magnetic "eld to a virgin
sample.
Recently a series of Gd
`
(Si
V
Ge
V
)
"
alloys, where
0)x)0.5, was reported [59,84}87] to display
a S
`
at least two times larger than that of Gd near
room temperature and between 2 and 10 times
larger than the best magnetocaloric materials in the
low and intermediate (see above) temperature re-
gions. Besides the extremely large S
`
two addi-
tional features make these alloys unique, and likely
candidate magnetic refrigerant materials for the use
in highly e$cient magnetic refrigerators. The "rst is
the fact that their Curie temperature can be tuned
between &20 and &286 K by varying the Si to Ge
ratio and by introducing small alloying additions of
Ga to Gd
`
(Si
`
Ge
`
) [87]. This allows one to tune
the maximum giant magnetocaloric e!ect between
&20 and &305 K. The second is the fact, that
unlike FeRh, the giant magnetocaloric e!ect in the
Gd
`
(Si
V
Ge
V
)
"
alloys, where 0)x)0.5, is revers-
ible, i.e. it does not disappear after the "rst applica-
tion of the magnetic "eld. The di!erence in the
behavior of the MCE in FeRh and Gd
`
(Si
V
Ge
V
)
"
alloys is most likely associated with the di!erence
in the nature of the "rst order phase transition,
which in the former case is a magnetic order}order
transformation, while in the latter case it is a simul-
taneous magnetic and crystallographic phase
transition, i.e. it is a magnetic order}disorder, and
crystallographic order}order phase transformation
[86,88].
The third class of materials also displaying
a large magnetocaloric e!ect (comparable to Gd) is
based on di!erently substituted perovskite-like
LaMnO
`
materials with Y, Ca, Li and/or Na sub-
stituting for La, and Ti for Mn [89}92]. The
reversibility of the MCE as well as possible mecha-
nisms of its existence in these compounds has not
been reported.
50 V.K. Pecharsky, K.A. Gschneidner Jr. / Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials 200 (1999) 44}56
2. Application of the magnetocaloric e4ect }
magnetic refrigeration
2.1. History of continuous magnetic refrigeration
The history of continuous magnetic refrigeration
can be traced to the work of Collins and Zimmer-
man [93], and Heer et al. [94], who built and tested
magnetic refrigerators (MR) operating between &1
and 0.73 K [93] and 0.2 K [94] by periodically
magnetizing and demagnetizing iron ammonium
alum. The latter apparatus extracted 123 erg/s
(12.3 J/s) from the cold reservoir at 0.2 K operat-
ing at 1/120 Hz frequency. It was not, however,
until Brown [95] reported a near room temper-
ature continuously operating MR, when it became
clear that magnetic refrigeration may be success-
fully utilized at signi"cantly higher temperatures
and achieve much larger temperature spans than
the maximumobserved MCE. Brown [95] was able
to attain a 473C no-load temperature di!erence
between the hot end (463C) and cold end (!13C) by
regenerating a column of #uid (80% water and
20% ethyl alcohol) using the lanthanide metal Gd
and a magnetic "eld change from 0 to 7 T. Follow-
ing the early work of Brown the concept of
active magnetic regenerator (AMR) refrigeration
was introduced by Steyert [96] and developed
by Barclay [97,98], and subsequently was brought
to life in various MR units operating at di!erent
temperatures [99}110]. Both the AMR concept
and the successful proof-of-principle room temper-
ature magnetic refrigerator are brie#y described
below.
2.2. Active magnetic regenerator cycle
A description of the AMR cycle was presented by
Zimm and DeGregoria [111]. In the AMR cycle,
a porous bed of a magnetic refrigerant material acts
as both the refrigerant (coolant) that produces re-
frigeration and the regenerator for the heat transfer
#uid. A schematic of the process is shown in Fig. 6.
Assume that the bed is at a steady state condition
with the hot heat exchanger at 753F (&243C) and
the cold heat exchanger at 403F (&53C). In Fig. 6a,
the initial temperature pro"le for the bed is in its
demagnetized state in zero magnetic "eld (dashed
line). When a magnetic "eld is applied to the refrig-
erant, each particle in the bed warms because of the
MCE to form the "nal magnetized bed temperature
pro"le (solid line). The amount each particle warms
is equal to