Magnetic field into multifunctional materials: magnetorheological, magnetostrictive and magnetocaloric

Abstract

Society is facing serious challenges towards achieving highly efficient utilization of materials and devices. Magnetoactive lightweight materials, such as magnetorheological, magnetostrictive and magnetocaloric materials are attracting increasing interest once they allow a high number of applications such as energy generation, conversion, storage, sensing and actuation, as well as in the biomedical field. In this chapter, the latest research and development in multifunctional lightweight magnetorheological, magnetostrictive and magnetocaloric materials is summarized and discussed in the scope of different application areas. Furthermore, it will be also illustrated the unique functions of inorganic nanomaterials to improve performance of organic materials, as well as combination of the functions of nanomaterials into a device. Final remarks and future perspectives allow to look into a “magnetoactive crystal ball” aiming to foresee what will/should happen in this fascinating research field.