Elastocaloric Kirigami Temperature Modulator

The elastocaloric effect, a temperature change induced by the external tensile or compressive strain, is of crucial interest for next-generation thermal management technologies because of its environmental friendliness and economic benefits. Toward applications of the elastocaloric effect, many efforts have been made to determine highly efficient elastocaloric materials. Here, another way of modulating the elastocaloric temperature change is reported by applying a process inspired by the Japanese art of paper-cutting, named kirigami. Simply, by stretching elastocaloric materials with kirigami structure, it is demonstrated that focused heat absorption and release can be generated simultaneously owing to nonuniform internal stress by cutting patterns. Owing to the ultrahigh stretchability of kirigami, the input stress required to generate the elastocaloric temperature change is dramatically reduced, resulting in an improvement in the local cooling/heating performance. The concept demonstrated here can be applied to any elastocaloric material and pave the way for constructing versatile solid-state heat pumps for flexible electronics.

Automated summary

A new method of modulating the elastocaloric temperature change is reported by applying kirigami structures, which can generate focused heat absorption and release, improving local cooling/heating performance.