Ionocaloric refrigeration cycle

Abstract

Developing high-efficiency cooling with safe, low-global warming potential refrigerants is a grand challenge for tackling climate change. Caloric effect-based cooling technologies, such as magneto- or electrocaloric refrigeration, are promising but often require large applied fields for a relatively low coefficient of performance and adiabatic temperature change. We propose using the ionocaloric effect and the accompanying thermodynamic cycle as a caloric-based, all-condensed-phase cooling technology. Theoretical and experimental results show higher adiabatic temperature change and entropy change per unit mass and volume compared with other caloric effects under low applied field strengths. We demonstrated the viability of a practical system using an ionocaloric Stirling refrigeration cycle. Our experimental results show a coefficient of performance of 30% relative to Carnot and a temperature lift as high as 25°C using a voltage strength of ~0.22 volts.