Near-room-temperature refrigeration through voltage-controlled entropy change in multiferroics

Composite materials with large magnetoelectric effect are proposed for application in advanced near-room-temperature refrigeration. The key innovation rests on utilizing the magnetocaloric effect in zero applied magnetic fields. This approach promises sizable isothermal entropy change and virtually temperature-independent refrigerant capacity through pure voltage-control. It is in sharp contrast with the conventional method of exploiting the magnetocaloric effect through applied magnetic fields. We outline the thermodynamics and estimate an isothermal entropy change specifically for the La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-PbTiO3(001) two-phase composite material. Finally, we propose structural variations of two-phase composites, which help in overcoming the challenging task of producing nanostructured material in macroscopic quantities. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4788690]