Abstract:

Energy efficient and environmentally friendly thermal management have a direct impact on the sustainability of our way of life, with magnetocaloric refrigeration being a promising technology for achieving a greener cooling technology. However, appliances are not yet on the consumer market due to relevant limitations of the active materials. In addition to applications point of view, the effect can be used to perform studies of phase transitions. We will present a general overview of the magnetocaloric effect and its suitability for energy efficient temperature control applications, ranging from hydrogen liquefaction to room temperature refrigeration, together with the requirements that make materials suitable for their use as magnetocaloric refrigerants. This will be followed by the procedures for magnetocaloric characterization and how they can be used to gain a fundamental understanding of the nature of thermomagnetic phase transitions. From the materials point of view, we will highlight two new types that have a promising future: high‑entropy alloys and materials for additive manufacturing.

Bio:

Victorino Franco is a professor at the Condensed Matter Physics Department of the University of Seville, Spain. His main research interests cover magnetic materials for energy applications, including soft-magnetic, magnetocaloric materials and functional high entropy alloys. He has published more than 230 peer-reviewed technical articles and received more than 11,900 citations to his work. In 2000, he received the Young Scientist Award from the Royal Physical Society of Spain, followed by the Young Scientist Award of the Royal Order of Chivalry of Seville in 2005, and 2019 IEEE Magnetics Society Distinguished Lecturer. He has served as chair of the Spain Chapter of the IEEE Magnetics Society and chair of the Magnetic Materials Committee of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS). He has been general chair for the 23^rd Soft Magnetic Materials Conference and of the 2022 Joint MMM-Intermag Conference. He currently serves as a scientific manager in the area of functional materials for the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI). He has been elevated to Fellow of IEEE in 2023 and the TMS will hold the honorary symposium “Advanced Soft Magnets and Magnetocaloric Materials: An FMD Symposium Honoring Victorino Franco” in Orlando in 2024.