Related papers: Barocaloric effect of elastomers and plastic cryst…
We present a minimal Landau theory of plastic-to-crystal phase transitions in which the key components are a multipole-moment order parameter that describes the orientational ordering of the constituent molecules, coupling between such…
Solid-state refrigeration based on caloric effects is an energetically efficient and environmentally friendly technology, which is deemed as a potential alternative to the conventional vapor-compression technology. One of the greatest…
Solid-state cooling based on i-caloric effects is considered the most promising alternative to replace the conventional vapor-compression refrigeration systems. It is possible to define an i-caloric effect as a thermal response registered…
Refrigeration systems based on compression of greenhouse gases are environmentally threatening and cannot be scaled down to on-chip dimensions. In the vicinity of a phase transition caloric materials present large thermal responses to…
The magnetocaloric effect (MCE) provides a promising foundation for the development of solid-state refrigeration technologies that could replace conventional gas compression-based cooling systems. Current research efforts primarily focus on…
The advent of caloric materials for magnetocaloric, elastocaloric, and electrocaloric cooling is changing the landscape of solid state cooling technologies with potentials for high-efficiency and environmentally-friendly residential and…
The electrocaloric effect refers to the temperature change in a material when an electric field is applied or removed. Significant breakthroughs revealed its potential for solid-state cooling technologies in past decades. These devices…
Recent studies of azo-dye doped liquid crystal elastomers show a strong photomechanical response. We report on models that predict experimental results that suggest photothermal heating is the dominant mechanism in a planar constrained…
Ferroelectrics are attractive candidate materials for environmentally friendly solid state refrigeration free of greenhouse gases. Their thermal response upon variations of external electric fields is largest in the vicinity of their phase…
Management of discarded tires is a compelling environmental issue worldwide. Although several approaches have been developed to recycle waste tire rubbers, their application in solid-state cooling is still unexplored. Considering the high…
Elastocaloric cooling has been identified as a promising alternative to high global warming potential vapor compression cooling. Two key bottlenecks to adoption are the need for bulky/expensive actuators to provide sufficient uniaxial…
Some key results obtained in joint research projects with Alex M\"uller are summarized, concentrating on the invention of the barocaloric effect and its application for cooling as well as on important findings in the field of…
What characterises a solid is its way to respond to external stresses. Ordered solids, such crystals, display an elastic regime followed by a plastic one, both well understood microscopically in terms of lattice distortion and dislocations.…
The adiabatic elastocaloric effect relates changes in the strain that a material experiences to resulting changes in its temperature. While elastocaloric materials have been utilized for cooling in room temperature applications, the use of…
Barocaloric (BC) effects at liquid-vapor transitions in hydrofluorocarbons drive most commercial technologies used for heating and cooling in the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning sector. However, these fluids suffer from huge…
During the last few years, the increasing demand of energy for refrigeration applications has relived the interest of the scientific community in the study of alternative methods to the traditional gas-based refrigeration. Within this…
The existence and feasibility of the multicaloric, polycrystalline material 0.8Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3-0.2Pb(Mg1/2W1/2)O3, exhibiting magnetocaloric and electrocaloric properties, are demonstrated. Both the electrocaloric and magnetocaloric…
Motivated by the need for new materials and green energy production and conversion processes, a class of mathematical models for liquid crystal elastomers integrated within a theoretical charge pump electrical circuit is considered. The…
As a nontrivial solid state of matter, the glassy-crystal state embraces physical features of both crystalline and amorphous solids, where a long-range ordered periodic structure formed by the mass centers of constituent molecules…
The mechanocaloric effect is the temperature change of a material upon application or removal of an external stress. Beyond its fundamental interest, this caloric response represents a promising and ecofriendly alternative to current…