Broad-Temperature Electrocaloric Effect in Multilayered Ferroelectric Polymer Nanocomposites.

Li, Kanghua; Wang, Changyuan; Xu, Ke; Zou, Kailun; Wang, Xu; Li, Junning; Lin, Ling; Liu, Lulu et al. · ACS Nano · 2025

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

While the electrocaloric effect (ECE) presents a promising approach for solid-state thermal management in integrated circuits, the development of ferroelectric materials exhibiting high ECE at elevated temperatures remains a significant bottleneck. Herein, we report multilayered ferroelectric polymer composites that demonstrate a giant ECE across a broad temperature range. By strategically tailoring the electric field distribution and optimizing polarization behavior through the controlled dispersion of ferroelectric ceramic nanofillers in the polymer matrix, as supported by phase-field modeling, the composites show a large adiabatic temperature change (Δ<i>T</i>) of 25.3 K and a high entropy change (Δ<i>S</i>) of 0.25 J cm<sup>-3</sup> K<sup>-1</sup> at room temperature. To further suppress electrical conduction, [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) was introduced into the polymer layers. The multilayered ferroelectric nanocomposites achieve Δ<i>T</i> and Δ<i>S</i> values exceeding 20 K and 0.18 J cm<sup>-3</sup> K<sup>-1</sup>, respectively, over a temperature range of 0-80 °C. This work offers a promising design strategy for developing high-performance electrocaloric materials for thermal management in advanced microelectronic systems.