Click here to sign in with or
Forget Password?
Learn more
share this!
24
Twit
Share
Email
May 28, 2024
This article has been reviewed according to Science X’s editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content’s credibility:
fact-checked
peer-reviewed publication
trusted source
proofread
by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Researchers at the School of Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a sustainable and controllable strategy to manipulate interfacial heat transfer, paving the way for improving the performance of eco-friendly cooling in various applications such as electronics, buildings and solar panels.
The team’s research work, titled “Direct Observation of Tunable Thermal Conductance at Solid/Porous Cystalline Solid Interfaces Induced by Water Adsorbates,” was recently published in Nature Communications. Led by Prof. Zhou, the team included his Ph.D. students Wang Guang, Fan Hongzhao, and Li Jiawang, as well as Associate Head of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at HKUST Prof. Li Zhigang.
As demand for effective cooling solutions continues to grow due to the rising global temperature, scientists worldwide have been actively exploring energy-saving cooling technologies that are more effective. Compared to active cooling, which entirely depends on energy consumption to operate, passive cooling relies on natural processes and design principles to reduce heat and maintain a comfortable temperature with low or no energy consumption. This approach has therefore generated wide interest among researchers due to its eco-friendly nature and zero-electricity characteristic.
One emerging field of study is passive cooling using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which are porous materials that can capture water vapor from the air and be used to increase energy efficiency in room temperature space cooling applications.
However, MOFs typically exhibit low thermal conductivity, making them poor thermal conductors. Moreover, the presence of adsorbed water molecules in MOFs further reduces their effective thermal conductivity. This limitation leaves little room for manipulating the intrinsic thermal transport properties of MOFs to enhance their cooling performance.
To address the issue, researchers worldwide have turned their attention to the interfacial heat dissipation between MOFs and the materials they come into contact with. Various approaches, including the use of adhesion layers, nanostructures, chemical modification, and self-assembled monolayers, have been employed to enhance the interfacial thermal conductance (ITC). However, synthesizing or fabricating buffer layers with precise atomic control is a challenging task, limiting the potential applications of these methods.
In their pioneering work, the research team led by Prof. Zhou Yanguang from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at HKUST introduced a sustainable and controllable strategy to manipulate interfacial heat transfer between the contacted substrate and typical MOFs by utilizing a water adsorption process.
Through comprehensive frequency-domain thermoreflectance (FDTR) measurements and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, they have demonstrated a remarkable improvement in ITC between the contacted substrate and MOFs. The ITC was increased from 5.3 MW/m2K to 37.5 MW/m2K, representing an enhancement of approximately 7.1 times. Effective enhancements are also observed in other Au/MOF systems.
The research team attributes this improvement to the formation of dense water channels facilitated by the adsorbed water molecules within MOFs. These channels serve as additional thermal pathways, significantly enhancing thermal energy transfer across the interfaces.
Further analysis using the frequency domain direct decomposition method developed by the team found that the adsorbed water not only activates the high-frequency vibrations, but also increases the overlap of vibrational density of states between the substrate and MOF which enhances the thermal energy dissipation from the substrate to MOF, highlighting the bridge effect of the adsorbed water molecules.
“This innovative study not only provides new insights into thermal transport across MOFs and other materials, but also holds great promise for enhancing the performance of cooling applications involving MOFs. By leveraging the water adsorption process, our team has achieved a breakthrough in manipulating interfacial heat transfer, paving the way for more efficient cooling technologies,” said Prof. Zhou.
More information: Guang Wang et al, Direct observation of tunable thermal conductance at solid/porous crystalline solid interfaces induced by water adsorbates, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46473-8
Explore further
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Feedback to editors
12 hours ago
0
14 hours ago
0
May 30, 2024
0
May 30, 2024
0
May 29, 2024
0
8 hours ago
9 hours ago
10 hours ago
10 hours ago
11 hours ago
11 hours ago
12 hours ago
14 hours ago
May 30, 2024
May 30, 2024
Apr 10, 2024
Mar 13, 2023
Sep 11, 2023
Jan 30, 2024
Jan 22, 2020
Apr 14, 2022
14 hours ago
11 hours ago
12 hours ago
9 hours ago
10 hours ago
May 30, 2024
Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our contact form. For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines).
Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request
Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors.
Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.
Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Neither your address nor the recipient’s address will be used for any other purpose. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Tech Xplore in any form.
Daily science news on research developments and the latest scientific innovations
Medical research advances and health news
The most comprehensive sci-tech news coverage on the web
This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, collect data for ads personalisation and provide content from third parties. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.