Self-oscillating polymeric refrigerator with high energy efficiency

Donglin Han, Yingjing Zhang, Cenling Huang, Shanyu Zheng, Dongyuan Wu, Qiang Li, Feihong Du, Hongxiao Duan, Weilin Chen, Junye Shi, Jiangping Chen, Gang Liu, Xin Chen and Xiaoshi Qian ()
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Donglin Han: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Yingjing Zhang: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Cenling Huang: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanyu Zheng: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Dongyuan Wu: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Qiang Li: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Feihong Du: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Hongxiao Duan: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Weilin Chen: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Junye Shi: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Jiangping Chen: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Gang Liu: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Xin Chen: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Xiaoshi Qian: Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Nature, 2024, vol. 629, issue 8014, 1041-1046

Abstract: Abstract Electrocaloric1,2 and electrostrictive3,4 effects concurrently exist in dielectric materials. Combining these two effects could achieve the lightweight, compact localized thermal management that is promised by electrocaloric refrigeration5. Despite a handful of numerical models and schematic presentations6,7, current electrocaloric refrigerators still rely on external accessories to drive the working bodies8–10 and hence result in a low device-level cooling power density and coefficient of performance (COP). Here we report an electrocaloric thin-film device that uses the electro-thermomechanical synergy provided by polymeric ferroelectrics. Under one-time a.c. electric stimulation, the device is thermally and mechanically cycled by the working body itself, resulting in an external-driver-free, self-cycling, soft refrigerator. The prototype offers a directly measured cooling power density of 6.5 W g−1 and a peak COP exceeding 58 under a zero temperature span. Being merely a 30-µm-thick polymer film, the device achieved a COP close to 24 under a 4 K temperature span in an open ambient environment (32% thermodynamic efficiency). Compared with passive cooling, the thin-film refrigerator could immediately induce an additional 17.5 K temperature drop against an electronic chip. The soft, polymeric refrigerator can sense, actuate and pump heat to provide automatic localized thermal management.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07375-3

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