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

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. N...

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Main Authors: Gelpi, Maria, Garcia-Ben, Javier, Rodríguez-Hermida, Sabina, López-Beceiro, Jorge, Artiaga, Ramón, Baaliña, Álvaro, Romero-Gomez, Manuel, Romero-Gómez, Javier, Zaragoza, Sonia, Beceiro, Jorge Salgado, Walker, Julian Bradley, McMonagle, Charles James, Castro-Garcia, Socorro, Andújar, Manuel Sánchez, Señarís-Rodríguez, María Antonia, Bermúdez-García, Juan Manuel
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary: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.