In the search of new electrocaloric materials: Fast ion conductors

C Cazorla, RESULTS IN PHYSICS, 5, 262-263 (2015).

DOI: 10.1016/j.rinp.2015.09.006

We analyse the effects of applying an electric field on the critical temperature at which superionicity appears in archetypal fast ion conductor CaF2, by means of molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the onset of superionicity can be reduced by about 100 K when relatively small electric fields of similar to 50 KV cm(-1) are applied. Under large enough electric fields, however, ionic conductivity is depleted. The normal to superionic phase transition is characterised by a large increase of entropy, thereby sizeable electrocaloric effects can be realised in fast ion conductors that are promising for solid-state cooling applications. (C) 2015 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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