EPSRC-Royal Society fellowship engagement (2013): Giant mechanocaloric effects in ferroelectrics and elastomers
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Materials Science & Metallurgy
Abstract
Please refer to attached Royal Society application.
Planned Impact
Please refer to attached Royal Society application.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Xavier Moya (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Aznar A
(2020)
Reversible and irreversible colossal barocaloric effects in plastic crystals
in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Aznar A
(2021)
Reversible colossal barocaloric effects near room temperature in 1-X-adamantane (X=Cl, Br) plastic crystals
in Applied Materials Today
Crossley S
(2015)
New developments in caloric materials for cooling applications
in AIP Advances
Crossley S
(2019)
Electrocaloric Cooling Cycles in Lead Scandium Tantalate with True Regeneration via Field Variation
in Physical Review X
Lloveras P
(2015)
Giant barocaloric effects at low pressure in ferrielectric ammonium sulphate.
in Nature communications
Lloveras P
(2019)
Colossal barocaloric effects near room temperature in plastic crystals of neopentylglycol.
in Nature communications
Moya X
(2015)
Too cool to work
in Nature Physics
Nair B
(2019)
Large electrocaloric effects in oxide multilayer capacitors over a wide temperature range.
in Nature
Stern-Taulats E
(2016)
Inverse barocaloric effects in ferroelectric BaTiO3 ceramics
in APL Materials
| Description | I discovered giant mechanocaloric effects in powdered salts of the ferrielectric ammonium sulphate, which is made from cheap abundant elements and is commercially available. I found giant reversible mechanocaloric effects that outperform those observed in the best mechanocaloric magnetic materials, and those predicted in inferior mechanocaloric ferroelectric oxides. |
| Exploitation Route | We are currently exploring ways to improve the mechanocaloric response of ferroelectric materials in order to match the demanding requirements set by industrial and household cooling applications. |
| Sectors | Energy,Environment |
| Description | My discovery of giant mechanocaloric effects in a material that is cheap and made of abundant elements has attracted the interest of Daikin Industries, one of the world's largest multinational air conditioner manufacturing companies, and Beko Ltd, the best-selling white-goods brand in the UK. The interest from Beko materialised in an Early Stage Innovate UK research grant to develop a mechanocaloric cooler, which started in April 2017. More recently, this discovery has attracted interest of several other companies, and this has led to the successful award of an EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account Follow-On Fund to design and build a mechanocaloric cooler based on my material. This latter work led to further engagement with industry, which ultimately culminated in the creation of a start-up company (Barocal Ltd). |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Energy,Environment |
| Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
| Description | Feasability of using barocaloric cooling for energy efficiency gains and zero greenhouse warming impact in commercial food and drink refrigeration |
| Amount | £98,500 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 105512 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2019 |
| End | 10/2020 |
| Description | Impact Acceleration Account Follow-On Fund |
| Amount | £60,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2018 |
| End | 09/2018 |
| Description | Investigating the spin-out potential for novel barocaloric cooling materials |
| Amount | £12,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | RG90413 |
| Organisation | ESRC Impact Acceleration Account Cambridge |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 06/2019 |
| Description | Research Fellows Enhancement Award 2017 |
| Amount | £110,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | RGF\EA\180293 |
| Organisation | The Royal Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2017 |
| End | 11/2021 |
| Description | Research Fellows Enhancement Awards 2018 |
| Amount | £199,906 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | RGF\EA\181017 |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2018 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | Starting Grant |
| Amount | € 1,500,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 680032 |
| Organisation | European Research Council (ERC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | 04/2016 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | Technology Strategy Board: Energy Catalyst - Early Stage - Round 4 |
| Amount | £240,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 132481 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2017 |
| End | 03/2018 |
| Description | Mechanocaloric Mn-based antiperovksites |
| Organisation | Imperial College London |
| Department | Department of Physics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My team started studying mechanocaloric properties of Mn-based antiperovskites samples that were prepared by our collaborators at Imperial College. These materials undergo magnetovolume phase transitions near room temperature that exhibit large values of latent heat, and therefore are promising for solid-state cooling applications. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Our collaborators prepared a series of Mn-based antiperovskite samples, with transition temperatures spanning a wide temperature range near room temperature that matches applications. |
| Impact | This collaboration is new and the work has just started. The collaboration is multi-disciplinary and involves Materials Science and Physics. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Mechanocaloric VO2 oxides |
| Organisation | Murata Manufacturing |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | My team studied mechanocaloric properties of VO2 oxide samples that were prepared by our collaborators in Murata Manufacturing. These oxides undergo metal-insulator phase transitions near room temperature that exhibit large values of latent heat, and therefore are promising for solid-state cooling applications. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Our collaborators prepared a series of doped VO2 samples, with transition temperatures spanning a wide temperature range near room temperature that matches applications. |
| Impact | We expanded the list of materials to investigate, based on our studies. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Mechanocaloric superionic conductors |
| Organisation | University of New South Wales |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My team started studying mechanocaloric properties of superionic conductors that were sent by our collaborators at the University of New South Wales. These materials undergo superionic phase transitions near room temperature that exhibit large values of latent heat, and therefore are promising for solid-state cooling applications. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Our collaborators sent a number of superionic samples, with transition temperatures spanning a wide temperature range near room temperature that matches applications. They also predicted mechanocaloric properties of some of the materials using first-principles calculations. |
| Impact | This collaboration has already led to the observation of giant mechanocaloric effects in AgI superionic conductors, which has been recently published in Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01898-2. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Blog entry for the Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was invited by the Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom to write an entry for their blog about my research on mechanocaloric cooling. This entry led to an invitation to give a lecture the Vicente Cañada Blanch Spanish Secondary School in London. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://blogsruk.wordpress.com/ |
| Description | Cambridge Science Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Organisation of the hands-on activity "Cool balloons" to demonstrate caloric materials using balloons and infra-red cameras. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Chesterton Community College after-school science club |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Presentation and hands-on activity to demonstrate how solids can be exploited for environmentally friendly cooling applications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
| Description | Enabling Innovation Exhibition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | I was sponsored by Magna, the leading global automotive supplier, to display a stand to present barocaloric cooling technology at the Enabling Innovation Exhibition, Advanced Engineering 2017 at NEC, Birmingham. This presentation led to offers of industrial collaboration and funding by one automotive company and one aerospace company. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Interview for AZoNetwork |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Interview for AZoNetwork, the leading online publisher producing multimedia content for audiences in Materials, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Sensors, Medical and Nanotechnology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=13453 |
| Description | Interview for Horizon, the European Union science, research and innovation magazine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview about my recent work on mechanocaloric materials. This interview led to a recent invitation for an interview by AZoNetwork |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/fridges-without-hum-alloys-and-salts-offer-liquid-free-cooling_e... |
| Description | Interview for the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview about my research for one of the newspapers with the highest circulation in Spain, La Vanguardia, with 600000 daily readers. This interview led to another interview for another Spanish newspaper, and an invitation to deliver a talk at the Spanish Royal Society of Physics in Madrid. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.lavanguardia.com/ciencia/20171218/433651486934/xavier-moya-premio-talento-emergente-2017-... |
| Description | Intreview for BBC One, broadcast on BBC Breakfast, BBC Weekend News and BBC World News |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I was interviewed by BBC about my work on mechanocaloric materials and devices. The purpose was to disseminate my work. After seeing the interview, a number of academics and industrialists approached me in order to discuss collaboration, thus stimulating increased interest and activity in this area of research. Separately, a number of other media outlets (BBC Radio Wales, Discovery Channel, Al Jazeera) contacted me in order to perform similar pieces for them. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0kMN_t-Dz4 |
| Description | Science Museum Lates |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Organisation of "Keep cool and carry on" hands-on outreach activity at the Science Museum London, to demonstrate how solids can be exploited for environmentally friendly mechanocaloric cooling. The activity sparked questions and discussion afterwards, and a school teacher who attended the activity expressed his interest in hosting a similar activity in his school. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Talk at Pint of Knowledge |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation and hands-on activity to demonstrate how solids can be exploited for environmentally friendly cooling applications. The presentation led to an invitation to contribute a post for a popular science blog. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |