Supergiant Barocaloric Effects in Acetoxy Silicone Rubber over a Wide Temperature Range: Great Potential for Solid-state Cooling

TL;DR

This paper reports supergiant barocaloric effects in acetoxy silicone rubber, demonstrating its potential as an efficient, eco-friendly material for solid-state cooling applications over a broad temperature range.

Contribution

It presents the discovery of large barocaloric effects in acetoxy silicone rubber, highlighting its suitability for environmentally friendly cooling technologies.

Findings

Huge adiabatic temperature changes observed

Reversible isothermal entropy changes achieved

Effects comparable to leading barocaloric materials

Abstract

Solid-state cooling based on caloric effects is considered a viable alternative to replace the conventional vapor-compression refrigeration systems. Regarding barocaloric materials, recent results show that elastomers are promising candidates for cooling applications around room-temperature. In the present paper, we report supergiant barocaloric effects observed in acetoxy silicone rubber - a very popular, low-cost and environmentally friendly elastomer. Huge values of adiabatic temperature change and reversible isothermal entropy change were obtained upon moderate applied pressures and relatively low strains. These huge barocaloric changes are associated both to the polymer chains rearrangements induced by confined compression and to the first-order structural transition. The results are comparable to the best barocaloric materials reported so far, opening encouraging prospects for the application of elastomers in near future solid-state cooling devices.