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Empowering CO2 Eco-Refrigeration with Colossal Breathing-Caloric-Like Effects in MOF-508b

Abstract

Today, ≈20% of the electric consumption is devoted to refrigeration; while, ≈50% of the final energy is dedicated to heating applications. In this scenario, many cooling devices and heat-pumps are transitioning toward the use of CO2 as an eco-friendly refrigerant, favoring carbon circular economy. Nevertheless, CO2 still has some limitations, such as large operating pressures (70–150 bar) and a critical point at 31 °C, which compromises efficiency and increases technological complexity. Very recently, an innovative breathing-caloric mechanism in the MIL-53(Al) compound is reported, which implies gas adsorption under CO2 pressurization boosted by structural transitions and which overcomes the limitations of stand-alone CO2. Here, the breathing-caloric-like effects of MOF-508b are reported, surpassing by 40% those of MIL-53(Al). Moreover, the first thermometry device operating at room temperature and under the application of only 26 bar of CO2 is presented. Under those conditions, this material presents values of ΔT ≈ 30 K, reaching heating temperatures of 56 °C and cooling temperatures of −10 °C, which are already useful for space heating, air-conditioning, food refrigeration, and freezing applications.
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Category

Academic article

Language

English

Author(s)

  • Maria Gelpi
  • Javier Garcia-Ben
  • Sabina Rodríguez-Hermida
  • Jorge López-Beceiro
  • Ramón Artiaga
  • Álvaro Baaliña
  • Manuel Romero-Gomez
  • Javier Romero-Gómez
  • Sonia Zaragoza
  • Jorge Salgado Beceiro
  • Julian Bradley Walker
  • Charles James McMonagle
  • Socorro Castro-Garcia
  • Manuel Sánchez Andújar
  • María Antonia Señarís-Rodríguez
  • Juan Manuel Bermúdez-García

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Energy Research / Termisk energi
  • European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
  • Universidade da Coruña
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Year

2023

Published in

Advanced Materials

ISSN

0935-9648

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository