A time-, energy-, and cost-efficient way of preparing (MnFe)2(P,Si)-type magnetocaloric materials

Abstract

We have demonstrated a time-, energy-, and cost-efficient way of preparing (MnFe)2(P,Si)-type magnetocaloric materials, i.e., via electromagnetic levitation melting and post-annealing from industrial-grade starting materials. The structural evolution and its influence on the magnetocaloric properties during post-annealing have been intensively studied. We found that some Fe3Si-type impurity phase with a size of around 5 μm is present in the as-prepared sample, which can be eliminated through high-temperature annealing. The sample annealed at 1373 K for 5 h shows a homogeneous element distribution and negligible amount of the impurity phase. A ΔSmax value of 17 Jkg−1 K−1 for a field change of 2 T has be realized in the present work, which is comparable to the highest ΔSmax values in the (MnFe)2(P,Si)-type samples produced via time- and energy-consuming solid-state reaction.