Large electrocaloric effects in single-crystal ammonium sulfate.


Type
Article
Change log
Authors
Li, W 
Moya, X 
Mathur, ND 
Abstract

Electrocaloric (EC) effects are typically studied near phase transitions in ceramic and polymer materials. Here, we investigate EC effects in an inorganic salt, namely ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4, with an order-disorder transition whose onset occurs at 223 K on cooling. For a single crystal thinned to 50 μm, we use a Maxwell relation to find a large isothermal entropy change of 30 J K(-1) kg(-1) in response to a field change of 400 kV cm(-1) The Clausius-Clapeyron equation implies a corresponding adiabatic temperature change of 4.5 K.This article is part of the themed issue 'Taking the temperature of phase transitions in cool materials'.

Description
Keywords
ammonium sulfate, electrocaloric effect, phase transition
Journal Title
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
1364-503X
1471-2962
Volume Title
Publisher
The Royal Society
Sponsorship
The Royal Society (uf120210)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/E03389X/1)
Royal Society