Nanotechnology Now – Press Release: When all the details matter –
Home > Press > When all the important details — Heat transfer in energy materials
| Formation of transient pair defects in copper iodide. Although these defects persist for only a few picoseconds, i.e. as long as a trillionth of a second, they substantially affect macroscopic heat transfer processes. CREDITS © Florian Knoop, NOMAD Laboratories |
Abstract:
NOMAD Laboratory researchers have recently shed light on the fundamental microscopic mechanisms that offer to adapt materials for heat insulation. This development advances ongoing efforts to improve energy efficiency and sustainability.
When all the important details — Heat transfer in energy materials
Berlin, Germany | Posted on June 9, 2023
The role of heat transport is critical in a variety of scientific and industrial applications, such as catalysis, turbine technology and thermoelectric heat converters that convert waste heat into electricity. Particularly in the context of energy conservation and sustainable technology development, materials with high heat insulation capabilities are very important. These materials make it possible to retain and utilize heat that would otherwise be wasted. Therefore, improving the design of highly insulated materials is a key research objective in enabling more energy-efficient applications.
However, designing a strong heat insulator is far from trivial, despite the fact that the fundamental physical laws that underlie it have been known for nearly a century. At the microscopic level, heat transfer in semiconductors and insulators is understood in terms of the collective oscillations of atoms around their equilibrium positions in the crystal lattice. These oscillations, called “phonons” in the field, involve billions of atoms in solid material and therefore cover nearly macroscopic length and time scales.
In a recent joint publication in Physical Review B (Editor’s Suggestion) and Physical Review Letter, researchers from the NOMAD Laboratory at the Fritz Haber Institute have advanced the computational possibilities to calculate thermal conductivity without experimental input with unprecedented accuracy. They demonstrated that for a strong heat insulator the above-mentioned phonon images are not suitable. Using large-scale calculations on supercomputers at the Max Planck Society, the North German SuperComputing Alliance, and the Jülich SuperComputing Center, they scanned more than 465 crystalline materials, whose thermal conductivity has not yet been measured. In addition to finding 28 strong thermal insulators, six of which display ultra-low thermal conductivities comparable to wood, this research elucidates the commonly observed mechanism that allows for a systematic decrease in thermal conductivity. “We observed the temporary formation of deformed structures that massively affect the motion of atoms in a very short time,” said Dr. Florian Knoop (now Linköping University), first author of both publications. “Such effects are usually ignored in thermal conductivity simulations, because these defects are short-lived and microscopically localized compared to typical heat transfer scales, and so are deemed irrelevant. However, the calculations performed show that they lead to a lower thermal conductivity,” added Dr. Christian Carbogno, senior author of the study.
These insights could offer new opportunities to refine and design thermal insulators at the nanoscale level through defect engineering, potentially contributing to advances in energy-efficient technologies.
####
For more information, please click Here
Contact:
Media Contact
Jelena Tomovic
The Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
Office: 3084135122
Expert Contact
Dr. Christian Carbogno
Fritz Haber Institute
Office: +49308413-4817
@fhi_mpg_de
Prof. Matthew Scheffler
Fritz Haber Institute
Office: +49308413-4711
@fhi_mpg_de
Copyright © Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
If you have any comments, please Contact us.
The news release publisher, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, is solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
News and information
A single quantum bit achieves modeling of complex systems June 9, 2023
Quantum materials: Electron spin measured for the first time June 9, 2023
Molten metal adhering to surface without bonding agent June 9, 2023
Graphene-Based Carbocatalysts: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications—Beyond the Boundary June 9, 2023
Possible Futures
USTC increased the fluorescence brightness of the single silicon carbide spin color center June 9, 2023
A single quantum bit achieves modeling of complex systems June 9, 2023
Advances in nanotechnology applications in biosafety materials Important response to the COVID-19 pandemic 9 June 2023
Researchers found material showing enormous magnetoresistance June 9, 2023
Invention
Zinc transporters have built-in self-regulatory sensors: New cryo-EM structure of zinc transport proteins reveals how this molecular machinery functions to regulate cellular levels of zinc, an essential micronutrient June 9, 2023
Advances in nanotechnology applications in biosafety materials Important response to the COVID-19 pandemic 9 June 2023
Researchers found material showing enormous magnetoresistance June 9, 2023
Breaking the boundaries of stretchable semiconductors with light-harnessing molecular brakes June 9, 2023
Announcement
Molten metal adhering to surface without bonding agent June 9, 2023
Graphene-Based Carbocatalysts: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications—Beyond the Boundary June 9, 2023
Zinc transporters have built-in self-regulatory sensors: New cryo-EM structure of zinc transport proteins reveals how this molecular machinery functions to regulate cellular levels of zinc, an essential micronutrient June 9, 2023
Advances in nanotechnology applications in biosafety materials Important response to the COVID-19 pandemic 9 June 2023
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White Papers/Posters
USTC increased the fluorescence brightness of the single silicon carbide spin color center June 9, 2023
A single quantum bit achieves modeling of complex systems June 9, 2023
Advances in nanotechnology applications in biosafety materials Important response to the COVID-19 pandemic 9 June 2023
Researchers found material showing enormous magnetoresistance June 9, 2023
Environment
Temperature sensing building materials change color to save energy January 27, 2023
This new fabric lining can drastically reduce microplastic pollution from washing clothes: University of Toronto Engineering Researchers working on fabric coatings to prevent microplastic fibers from shedding during the laundry cycle January 27, 2023
Researchers fabricate new 3D extra-large pore zeolite that opens new pathways to water and gas decontamination: A team of scientists with CSIC participation develops extra-large pore silica zeolite from silicate chains 20 January 2023
The new nanowire sensor is the next step in the January 6, 2023 Internet of Things
Energy
Graphene-Based Carbocatalysts: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications—Beyond the Boundary June 9, 2023
Researchers at Purdue discover 3D true superconductive images and disturbance-driven fractals May 12th, 2023
Channeling mechanical energy in the direction it likes April 14, 2023
Universal HCl assistant powder-to-powder strategy for preparing lead-free perovskites March 24, 2023
