Low field electrocaloric effect at isotropic-ferroelectric nematic phase transition.

Soft Matter

Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA.

Published: December 2024

Electrocaloric effects (ECE) in solid state materials, such as ferroelectric ceramics and ferroelectric polymers, have a great impact in developing cooling systems. Herein, we describe the ECE of a newly synthesized ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal compound at the isotropic-ferroelectric nematic (I-N) phase transition. While the Joule heat completely suppressed the ECE in a DC field, in an AC field with < 1.2 V μm and ≥ 40 Hz, an increase in optical transmittance was observed, which in comparison with a zero-field transmittance temperature plot indicated a shift in the transition temperature. These findings implied that one can induce the desired phase transition using an electric field ECE with an EC responsivity of ∼1.7 × 10 km V. Notably, the required electric field was two orders of magnitude smaller than the typical fields for other EC materials. EC effects observed under such low fields is a unique property of ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals. Furthermore, the specific EC energy could be increased considerably by reducing the ionic content, thus suppressing the Joule heat.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d4sm00979gDOI Listing

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