New design of La(Fe, Co, Si)13 magnetocaloric composites using Gd as a binder

Abstract

We propose a new type of magnetocaloric composite that excludes the conventional use of non-magnetocaloric materials as the binder. Spark plasma sintering was adopted to make a fully dense La(Fe, Co, Si)13/Gd composite at low temperatures (450–600 °C), which shows relatively high thermal conductivity and compressive strength compared with the counterparts of other bonded magnetic refrigeration composites. The mechanism of high thermal conductivity and compressive strength were discussed. The diffusion processes between La(Fe, Co, Si)13 and Gd were also analyzed, though it has a limited influence on the magnetocaloric effect of the composite. The results suggest that using Gd as the metal binder is promising for improving the performance of present magnetic refrigeration composites. It also provides an important approach for the design of new magnetocaloric materials.