Magnetocaloric and Electrocaloric Materials for Solid State Refrigeration

Dear Colleagues,

Worldwide, about 17% of the overall energy consumption originates from refrigeration. Most of the refrigeration applications are based on vapor compression plants. They are characterized by the use of environmentally harmful refrigerants. Therefore, the scientific community has devoted its attention toward non-vapor-compression technologies for refrigeration and air conditioning. Between these technologies, solid-state cooling methods promise high system efficiency. When the refrigerant is solid, it has essentially zero vapor pressure and, therefore, it is ecological since it has no direct Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and zero direct Global Warming Potential (GWP). In this class, in the field of small-scale refrigerators, there are magnetocaloric and electrocaloric refrigeration systems. Magnetic refrigeration is based on the Magneto-Caloric Effect (MCE), whereas electrocaloric refrigeration is based on the ElectroCaloric Effect (ECE). Similar principles support the physics of the MCE and ECE. MCE and ECE are physical phenomena found in materials with dielectric properties (Electrocaloric Materials (EM)) or with magnetic properties (Magnetocaloric Materials (MM)). Active Magnetic Regenerator/Active Electrocaloric Regenerator (AMR/AER) is the core of an active regenerative thermodynamic cycle. The performances of an AMR/AER refrigerator are mostly influenced by the particular solid materials employed.

The main goal of this Special Issue of Magnetochemistry is to analyze Magnetocaloric and Electrocaloric materials from both theoretical and experimental points of view. Therefore, all the papers focusing on MM and EM characterization, with respect to electrical and magnetic properties, are welcomed, together with papers based on the evaluation of the energetic performances of AMR or AER plants.

Prof. Dr. Adriana Greco
Guest Editor

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