Project R-16671

Design of Lead-Free Hybrid Perovskites as Low-Pressure Barocaloric Materials for Energy-Efficient HFC-free Solid-State Cooling (Research)

Cooling already accounts for a significant and increasing share of global electricity use, while many systems still rely on fluorinated gases that are being phased out. This project investigates a solid-state cooling approach based on the barocaloric effect, in which pressure-responsive solids provide cooling without circulating refrigerants and enable sealed operation. The work focuses on lead-free hybrid perovskites, which contain both organic and inorganic components. These materials have soft structures that exhibit clear, reversible changes in internal order under relatively low pressure, which is important for compact, practical devices. The long-term goal is to leverage this structural responsiveness to achieve stable, efficient cooling at low pressure through an integrated approach that combines material design, synthesis, and experimental testing. The project uses targeted composition design, reproducible fabrication methods, and advanced characterization to understand how atomic structure and molecular motion create useful thermal effects. The expected results include design guidelines and performance metrics that help identify safe, tunable, and scalable materials. In the longer term, this work may support the development of energy‑efficient cooling technologies that avoid harmful refrigerants and enable compact modules for electronics, small cooling systems, and future heat pumps.

16 September 2026 - 15 September 2030