Revolutionizing cooling with ionic plastic crystals

Yes, compressed ionic plastic crystals are cool (very cool) and we explained it at Science Magazine. We know that traditional refrigeration systems contribute significantly to global warming, leading to a vicious cycle of increased cooling demand. These inefficient systems rely on refrigerant substances that are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. To break free from this cycle, solid-state cooling systems have been proposed as a more sustainable alternative. These systems leverage physical phenomena like caloric effects to achieve cooling, but they are currently limited by the lack of suitable materials.

At the CCEM Barcelona, we are pioneering viable and sustainable solutions through solid-state refrigeration to provide energy efficient cooling without greenhouse emissions. Our researchers, Josep Tamarit and Pol Lloveras Muntane from the Group of Characterization of Materials (GCM) have published a perspective article in Science Magazine on the promising prospects of ionic plastic crystal materials that could revolutionize solid-state refrigeration due to their ability to efficiently cool at low temperatures.

Read the full paper here: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq8396