Polymeric nanocomposites for electrocaloric refrigeration

Abstract

Electrocaloric refrigeration represents an alternative solid-state cooling technology that has the potential to reach the ultimate goal of achieving zero-global-warming potential, highly efficient refrigeration, and heat pumps. To date, both polymeric and inorganic oxides have demonstrated giant electrocaloric effect as well as respective cooling devices. Although both polymeric and inorganic oxides have been identified as promising cooling methods that are distinguishable from the traditional ones, they still pose many challenges to more practical applications. From an electrocaloric material point of view, electrocaloric nanocomposites may provide a solution to combine the beneficial effects of both organic and inorganic electrocaloric materials. This article reviews the recent advancements in polymer-based electrocaloric composites and the state-of-the-art cooling devices operating these nanocomposites. From a device point of view, it discusses the existing challenges and potential opportunities of electrocaloric nanocomposites.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

nanocomposites / electrocaloric / refrigeration / polymer

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2020YFA0711500), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52076127), the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (Grant Nos. 20ZR1471700 and 22JC1401800), the State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration (Grant No. MSVZD202211), the Oceanic Interdisciplinary Program of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Project No. SL2020MS009), the Prospective Research Program at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (No. 19X160010008), the Student Innovation Center, and the Instrumental Analysis Center at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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