Thermal batteries based on inverse barocaloric effects

Zhe Zhang; Kuo Li; Shangchao Lin; Ruiqi Song; Dehong Yu; Yida Wang; Jingfan Wang; Shogo Kawaguchi; Zhao Zhang; Chenyang Yu; Xiaodong Li; Jie Chen; Lunhua He; Richard Mole; Bao Yuan; Qingyong Ren; Kun Qian; Zhuangli Cai; Jingui Yu; Mingchao Wang; Changying Zhao; Xin Tong; Zhidong Zhang; Bing Li

doi:10.1126/sciadv.add0374

Thermal batteries based on inverse barocaloric effects

Sci Adv. 2023 Feb 17;9(7):eadd0374. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.add0374. Epub 2023 Feb 17.

Authors

Zhe Zhang^{1

2}, Kuo Li³, Shangchao Lin⁴, Ruiqi Song¹, Dehong Yu⁵, Yida Wang³, Jingfan Wang⁶, Shogo Kawaguchi⁷, Zhao Zhang^{1

2}, Chenyang Yu^{1

2}, Xiaodong Li⁸, Jie Chen⁹, Lunhua He^{9

10

11}, Richard Mole⁵, Bao Yuan^{8

9}, Qingyong Ren^{8

9}, Kun Qian⁴, Zhuangli Cai⁴, Jingui Yu¹², Mingchao Wang¹³, Changying Zhao⁴, Xin Tong^{8

9}, Zhidong Zhang^{1

2}, Bing Li^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, Liaoning 110016, China.
² School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, Liaoning 110016, China.
³ Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, Beijing 100193, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory for Power Machinery and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
⁵ Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Locked Bag 2001, Kirrawee DC, NSW 2232, Australia.
⁶ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32310, USA.
⁷ Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, SPring-8, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan.
⁸ Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁹ Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan 523803, China.
¹⁰ Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
¹¹ Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan 523808, China.
¹² School of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China.
¹³ Centre for Theoretical and Computational Molecular Science, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.

Abstract

To harvest and reuse low-temperature waste heat, we propose and realize an emergent concept-barocaloric thermal batteries based on the large inverse barocaloric effect of ammonium thiocyanate (NH₄SCN). Thermal charging is initialized upon pressurization through an order-to-disorder phase transition, and the discharging of 43 J g^-1 takes place at depressurization, which is 11 times more than the input mechanical energy. The thermodynamic equilibrium nature of the pressure-restrained heat-carrying phase guarantees stable long-duration storage. The barocaloric thermal batteries reinforced by their solid microscopic mechanism are expected to substantially advance the ability to take advantage of waste heat.