Colossal barocaloric effects near room temperature in plastic crystals of neopentylglycol.

ABSTRACT: There is currently great interest in replacing the harmful volatile hydrofluorocarbon fluids used in refrigeration and air-conditioning with solid materials that display magnetocaloric, electrocaloric or mechanocaloric effects. However, the field-driven thermal changes in all of these caloric materials fall short with respect to their fluid counterparts. Here we show that plastic crystals of neopentylglycol (CH₃)₂C(CH₂OH)₂ display extremely large pressure-driven thermal changes near room temperature due to molecular reconfiguration, that these changes outperform those observed in any type of caloric material, and that these changes are comparable with those exploited commercially in hydrofluorocarbons. Our discovery of colossal barocaloric effect

SUBMITTER: Lloveras P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6472423 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature