Functional Magnetic Nanomaterials

**63**

low hysteretic losses.

**Chapter 4**

**Abstract**

physical properties, applications

**1. Introduction**

**1.1 Magnetic materials**

Intriguing Properties and

Magnetic Materials

Applications of Functional

*Sabah M. Abdelbasir and Ahmed Esmail Shalan*

properties that are relevant to different applications will be explained.

**Keywords:** functional materials, magnetic nanoparticles, magnetic field,

Magnetic materials play a crucial role in the progress of industrial development and scientific growth. They are constantly used in power generation and transmission, electronic devices, analog and digital data storage, medical devices, magnetic therapy and drug delivery, sensors and scientific equipment, etc. Functional magnetic materials are materials with unique physical properties, which can be affected when subjected to an applied excitement such as magnetic field. They are considered as the smart materials of the future. A material can be applied in magnetic refrigerators when a change in the entropy across its magnetic ordering temperature occurs. This functionality of a magnetic material has huge possibility to be used as an alternative cooling technology and it is based on magnetocaloric effect (MCE), which is reversible temperature change in a magnetic material when a variable magnetic field is applied. This functionality additionally offers the prospect of a compact, highly efficient, and environment-friendly alternative to the most commonly used vapor-compression-based freezing system. The main challenges are the availability of high magnetocaloric materials in large quantities exhibiting large MCE at room temperature in a reasonable magnetic field as well as

Functional magnetic materials, also called the smart materials of the future, are a group of materials having important and interesting physical properties, which can be affected when an external magnetic field is applied. They are intriguing models that have a strong impact on improving different technologies. Their magnetic response to an external magnetic field can be represented as paramagnetic, diamagnetic, ferromagnetic, or antiferromagnetic. Compared with bulk materials, they show uncommon magnetic behavior as a result of their surface/ interface effects, electronic charge transfer, and magnetic interactions. They can be used in different vital applications like data storage systems, refrigeration, magnetic recording, and medical studies. In this chapter, essential attractive magnetic
