LaFe11.6Si1.4/Pr40Co60 magnetocaloric composites for refrigeration near room temperature

The effect of Pr40Co60 addition on the structure, thermal conductivity, magnetic, magnetocaloric and mechanical properties of sintered LaFe11.6Si1.4/Pr40Co60 bulk composites were investigated. The addition of Pr-Co alloy has important effects on these properties due to the diffusion of Pr and Co into the La(Fe,Si) 13 phase during sintering. After 6 h of sintering at 1373 K, these composites exhibited a gradual increase in Curie temperature (T-C) from 220 K to near room temperature with relatively large maximum magnetic entropy change (-Delta S-M)(max) of 2.7-2.9 Jkg-1 K-1 under 0-2 T external magnetic field change. The diffusion of Pr and Co atoms into 1:13 majority phase facilitates 1:13 phase formation, while the Co content of the Pr-Co binder could be used to tune the TC but resulting in the reduced (-Delta S-M)(max) in the composites. The com-posites exhibit high compressive strength (sigma bc)(max) of up to 550 MPa and thermal conductivity (lambda) of up to 10.64 Wm-1 K-1. Thus, these materials are promising candidates for near room temperature refrigeration. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The effects of Pr40Co60 addition on the sintered LaFe11.6Si1.4/Pr40Co60 bulk composites were investigated, with improvements observed in the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties due to the diffusion of Pr and Co. In addition, the addition of Pr-Co alloy also affected the structure, thermal conductivity, and mechanical properties of the materials, making them promising candidates for near room temperature refrigeration.