More Like this

1. Comparative Thermal Insulation Nature of Ca 2 FeMnO 6−δ and Sr 2 FeMnO 6−δ

   https://doi.org/10.1149/2754-2734/ad27dc  

   Schultz, Ebony ; Guinn, Mandy ; Azure, Alexa D. ; Hona, Ram Krishna ( February 2024 , ECS Advances)

   In this study, we investigate the utility of Ca₂FeMnO_6-δand Sr₂FeMnO_6-δas materials with low thermal conductivity, finding potential applications in thermoelectrics, electronics, solar devices, and gas turbines for land and aerospace use. These compounds, characterized as oxygen-deficient perovskites, feature distinct vacancy arrangements. Ca₂FeMnO_6-δadopts a brownmillerite-type orthorhombic structure with ordered vacancy arrangement, while Sr₂FeMnO_6-δadopts a perovskite cubic structure with disordered vacancy distribution. Notably, both compounds exhibit remarkably low thermal conductivity, measuring below 0.50 Wm⁻¹K⁻¹. This places them among the materials with the lowest thermal conductivity reported for perovskites. The observed low thermal conductivity is attributed to oxygen vacancies and phonon scattering. Interestingly as SEM images show the smaller grain size, our findings suggest that creating vacancies and lowering the grain size or increasing the grain boundaries play a crucial role in achieving such low thermal conductivity values. This characteristic enhances the potential of these materials for applications where efficient heat dissipation, safety, and equipment longevity are paramount.

    

   more » « less
2. Glass‐Like Through‐Plane Thermal Conductivity Induced by Oxygen Vacancies in Nanoscale Epitaxial La 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3− δ

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201704233  

   Wu, Xuewang ; Walter, Jeff ; Feng, Tianli ; Zhu, Jie ; Zheng, Hong ; Mitchell, John F. ; Biškup, Neven ; Varela, Maria ; Ruan, Xiulin ; Leighton, Chris ; et al ( November 2017 , Advanced Functional Materials)

   Ultrafast time‐domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) is utilized to extract the through‐plane thermal conductivity (Λ_LSCO) of epitaxial La_0.5Sr_0.5CoO_3−δ(LSCO) of varying thickness (<20 nm) on LaAlO₃and SrTiO₃substrates. These LSCO films possess ordered oxygen vacancies as the primary means of lattice mismatch accommodation with the substrate, which induces compressive/tensile strain and thus controls the orientation of the oxygen vacancy ordering (OVO). TDTR results demonstrate that the room‐temperatureΛ_LSCOof LSCO on both substrates (1.7 W m⁻¹K⁻¹) are nearly a factor of four lower than that of bulk single‐crystal LSCO (6.2 W m⁻¹K⁻¹). Remarkably, this approaches the lower limit of amorphous oxides (e.g., 1.3 W m⁻¹K⁻¹for glass), with no dependence on the OVO orientation. Through theoretical simulations, origins of the glass‐like thermal conductivity of LSCO are revealed as a combined effect resulting from oxygen vacancies (the dominant factor), Sr substitution, size effects, and the weak electron/phonon coupling within the LSCO film. The absence of OVO dependence in the measuredΛ_LSCOis rationalized by two main effects: (1) the nearly isotropic phononic thermal conductivity resulting from the imperfect OVO planes when δ is small; (2) the missing electronic contribution toΛ_LSCOalong the through‐plane direction for these ultrathin LSCO films on insulating substrates.

    

   more » « less
3. Anomalous Defect Dependence of Thermal Conductivity in Epitaxial WO 3 Thin Films

   https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201903738  

   Ning, Shuai ; Huberman, Samuel C. ; Ding, Zhiwei ; Nahm, Ho‐Hyun ; Kim, Yong‐Hyun ; Kim, Hyun‐Suk ; Chen, Gang ; Ross, Caroline A. ( September 2019 , Advanced Materials)

   Lattice defects typically reduce lattice thermal conductivity, which has been widely exploited in applications such as thermoelectric energy conversion. Here, an anomalous dependence of the lattice thermal conductivity on point defects is demonstrated in epitaxial WO₃thin films. Depending on the substrate, the lattice of epitaxial WO₃expands or contracts as protons are intercalated by electrolyte gating or oxygen vacancies are introduced by adjusting growth conditions. Surprisingly, the observed lattice volume, instead of the defect concentration, plays the dominant role in determining the thermal conductivity. In particular, the thermal conductivity increases significantly with proton intercalation, which is contrary to the expectation that point defects typically lower the lattice thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity can be dynamically varied by a factor of≈1.7 via electrolyte gating, and tuned over a larger range, from 7.8 to 1.1 W m⁻¹K⁻¹, by adjusting the oxygen pressure during film growth. The electrolyte‐gating‐induced changes in thermal conductivity and lattice dimensions are reversible through multiple cycles. These findings not only expand the basic understanding of thermal transport in complex oxides, but also provide a path to dynamically control the thermal conductivity.

    

   more » « less
4. Sustainable and Inexpensive Polydimethylsiloxane Sponges for Daytime Radiative Cooling

   https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202102502  

   Zhou, Lyu ; Rada, Jacob ; Zhang, Huafan ; Song, Haomin ; Mirniaharikandi, Seyededriss ; Ooi, Boon S. ; Gan, Qiaoqiang ( October 2021 , Advanced Science)

   Radiative cooling is an emerging cooling technology that can passively release heat to the environment. To obtain a subambient cooling effect during the daytime, chemically engineered structural materials are widely explored to simultaneously reject sunlight and preserve strong thermal emission. However, many previously reported fabrication processes involve hazardous chemicals, which can hinder a material's ability to be mass produced. In order to eliminate the hazardous chemicals used in the fabrication of previous works, this article reports a white polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sponge fabricated by a sustainable process using microsugar templates. By substituting the chemicals for sugar, the manufacturing procedure produces zero toxic waste and can also be endlessly recycled via methods widely used in the sugar industry. The obtained porous PDMS exhibits strong visible scattering and thermal emission, resulting in an efficient temperature reduction of 4.6 °C and cooling power of 43 W m⁻²under direct solar irradiation. In addition, due to the air‐filled voids within the PDMS sponge, its thermal conductivity remains low at 0.06 W (m K)⁻¹. This unique combination of radiative cooling and thermal insulation properties can efficiently suppress the heat exchange with the solar‐heated rooftop or the environment, representing a promising future for new energy‐efficient building envelope material.

    

   more » « less
5. The impact of site selectivity and disorder on the thermoelectric properties of Yb 21 Mn 4 Sb 18 solid solutions: Yb 21 Mn 4−x Cd x Sb 18 and Yb 21−y Ca y Mn 4 Sb 18

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ma00497b  

   He, Allan ; Cerretti, Giacomo ; Kauzlarich, Susan M. ( August 2021 , Materials Advances)

   Thermoelectric materials can convert heat into electricity. They are used to generate electricity when other power sources are not available or to increase energy efficiency by recycling waste heat. The Yb 21 Mn 4 Sb 18 phase was previously shown to have good thermoelectric performance due to its large Seebeck coefficient (∼290 μV K −1 ) and low thermal conductivity (0.4 W m −1 K −1 ). These characteristics stem respectively from the unique [Mn 4 Sb 10 ] 22− subunit and the large unit cell/site disorder inherent in this phase. The solid solutions, Yb 21 Mn 4− x Cd x Sb 18 ( x = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5) and Yb 21− y Ca y Mn 4 Sb 18 ( y = 3, 6, 9, 10.5) have been prepared, their structures characterized and thermoelectric properties from room temperature to 800 K measured. A detailed look into the structural disorder for the Cd and Ca solid solutions was performed using synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and pair distribution function methods and shows that these are highly disordered structures. The substitution of Cd gives rise to more metallic behavior whereas Ca substitution results in high resistivity. As both Cd and Ca are isoelectronic substitutions, the changes in properties are attributed to changes in the electronic structure. Both solid solutions show that the thermal conductivities remain extremely low (∼0.4 W m −1 K −1 ) and that the Seebeck coefficients remain high (>200 μV K −1 ). The temperature dependence of the carrier mobility with increased Ca substitution, changing from approximately T −1 to T −0.5 , suggests that another scattering mechanism is being introduced. As the bonding changes from polar covalent with Yb to ionic for Ca, polar optical phonon scattering becomes the dominant mechanism. Experimental studies of the Cd solid solutions result in a max zT of ∼1 at 800 K and, more importantly for application purposes, a ZT avg ∼ 0.6 from 300 K to 800 K. 

   more » « less