RESUMEN
Currently, magnetocaloric refrigeration technologies are emerging as ecofriendly and more energy-efficient alternatives to conventional expansion-compression systems. However, major challenges remain. A particular concern is the mechanical properties of magnetocaloric materials, namely, their fatigue under cycling and difficulty in processing and shaping. Nevertheless, in the past few years, using multistimuli thermodynamic cycles with multicaloric refrigerants has led to higher heat-pumping efficiencies. To address simultaneously the challenges and develop a multicaloric material, in this work, we have prepared magnetocaloric-based flexible composite mats composed of micrometric electroactive (EA) polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) fibers with embedded magnetocaloric/strictive La(Fe,Si)13 particles by the simple and cost-effective electrospinning technique. The composite's structural characterization, using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and measurements of the local-scale piezoresponse, revealed a cubic NaZn13-type structure of the La(Fe,Si)13 phase and the formation of the dominant polar ß-phase of the PVDF polymer. The PVDF-La(Fe,Si)13 composite showed an enhancement of the longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient (effective d33) (-11.01 pm/V) compared with the single PVDF fiber matrix (-9.36 pm/V). The main magnetic properties of La(Fe,Si)13 powder were retained in the PVDF-La(Fe,Si)13 composite, including its giant magnetocaloric effect. By retaining the unique magnetic properties of La(Fe,Si)13 embedded in the electroactive piezoelectric polymer fiber mats, we have designed a flexible, easily shapeable, and multifunctional composite enabling its potential application in multicaloric heat-pumping devices and other sensing and actuating devices.
RESUMEN
An effective control of the second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency in electrospun nanofibers of nonlinear optically active 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline and carrier polymer poly(l-lactic acid) (MNA-PLLA) is presented. The SHG efficiency of the MNA-PLLA fibers strongly depends on the diameter of the nanofibers and can be increased up to an order of magnitude by controlling the electrospinning processing parameters. For optimal electrospinning process conditions, MNA-PLLA nanofibers with an effective nonlinear optical coefficient that is two orders of magnitude greater than the counterpart bulk powder MNA may be obtained. The work can be used as a guideline for the manufacture of nanophotonic devices.