Published in the journal Advanced Materials, the cooperation between the National Institute for Material Science (NIMS – Japan) and our Functional Materials group have demonstrated a major advance toward sustainable magnetocaloric cooling. Aiming for the energy transition, this research eliminates performance-limiting hysteresis in the magnetocaloric material. The team introduced a novel sub-unit-cell design strategy in a Gd5Ge4-based compound, by forming Sn(Ge)3−Sn(Ge)3 covalent bonds within the unit cell, enabling an energetically favorable phase transition without sacrificing cooling efficiency. As a result, the material shows both a significantly enhanced magnetic entropy change and a twofold increase in reversible adiabatic temperature change, marking a decisive step forward for magnetic refrigeration.

By characterization of materials’ heat capacity and its magnetocaloric properties, our new work helps to shift the actual paradigm in controlling magnetostructural phase transitions and overcoming long-standing trade-offs in magnetocaloric performance. The findings open promising perspectives for ecological-friendly cooling applications, particularly in gas liquefaction, and underscore the power of interdisciplinary cooperation in addressing global energy and sustainability challenges.

We are very grateful and happy to be part of this fruitful cooperation. The complete article can be accessed via this link: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202514295