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Description:

Magnetic cooling technology, based on the magnetocaloric effect (MCE), offers an energy-efficient and eco-friendly alternative to conventional gas compression, but is often hindered by large magnetic hysteresis, which limits cyclic performance. In this study, we show that the hysteresis of La₀.₇Ce₀.₃(Fe,Si)₁₃ hydrides – a promising material for room-temperature refrigeration – can be significantly reduced by refining the microstructure of the precursor alloy. Substituting Ce for La in (La₀.₇Ce₀.₃)(Fe,Si)₁₃Hx increases hysteresis losses from 12.3 J/kg to 34 J/kg. However, preparing the precursor alloy using the melt-spinning technique can almost eliminate this hysteresis. Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (Lorentz-TEM) shows that phase transition nucleation preferentially occurs at the grain boundaries. The hydrides prepared from melt-spun ribbons exhibit a much larger volume fraction of grain boundaries due to finer grains, providing a higher density of nucleation sites. This reduces the energy barrier for phase transition and weakens the magneto-structural phase transition, as confirmed by in-situ X-ray diffraction patterns. Consequently, the reduced phase transition energy barrier leads to significantly lower hysteresis in melt-spun hydrides samples. These findings demonstrate the potential of microstructure engineering to reduce hysteresis in (La,Ce)(Fe,Si)₁₃Hₓ materials for room-temperature magnetocaloric applications.

Rights:

• Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 International
  

Keyword: La(Fe,Si)13, Magnetocaloric, Hysteresis

Date published: 2025-12-31

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Journal:

• Science and Technology of Advanced Materials (ISSN: 14686996) vol. 26 issue. 1 2525742

Funding:

• MEXT program: Data Creation and Utilization-Type Material Research and Development Project
• JSPS International Joint Research Program JPJSJRP20221608
• Magnetic Thermal Management Materials Project JPMJER2201
• JST, Japan
• Data Creation and Utilization-Type Material Research and Development Project

Manuscript type: Publisher's version (Version of record)

MDR DOI:

First published URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/14686996.2025.2525742

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Updated at: 2025-09-10 12:30:33 +0900

Published on MDR: 2025-09-10 12:17:58 +0900