Light-induced bi-directional switching of thermal conductivity in azobenzene-doped liquid crystal mesophases

Abstract

Developing systems that can be switched between states with different thermal conductivities is one of the current challenges in materials science. Despite their enormous diversity and chemical richness, molecular materials...

Interfacial Thermal Resistive Switching in (Pt,Cr)/SrTiO3 Devices

“…Strategies for controlling the heat flow in solids comprise the use of artificial interfaces, − domain walls in ferromagnets and ferroelectrics, − anisotropic mass distribution in nanowires, or point defects in crystalline solids, − among others . On the other hand, achieving a dynamic manipulation of heat transport implies the design of reconfigurable thermal states, − which poses a much bigger challenge, but it is essential for dealing with thermal energy management in electronics and other energy-demanding technologies . Ionic electrochemical intercalation − has stood out as a possibility in recent years, although the slowness of switching and the use of an ionic liquid/gel phase limit its applications.…”

Light-driven dynamical tuning of the thermal conductivity in ferroelectrics

“…On the other hand, the possibility of manipulating κ with light has received very little attention thus far, although some promising results in azobenzene-doped liquid crystals have been recently reported. 20 Light-driven control of the thermal conductivity could bypass some of the issues posed by the schemes described above ( e.g. , application of large driving fields) and simplify the design of logic devices ( i.e.…”

“…On the other hand, the possibility of manipulating κ with light has received very little attention thus far, although some promising results in azobenzene-doped liquid crystals have been recently reported. 20 Light-driven control of the thermal conductivity could bypass some of the issues posed by the schemes described above (e.g., application of large driving fields) and simplify the design of logic devices (i.e., no need for electrical contacts). Macroscopic light-driven phase transitions 21,22 involving collective phenomena such as electronic correlation, spin-lattice and charge-lattice couplings are especially appealing in this regard.…”

Low voltage–driven high-performance thermal switching in antiferroelectric PbZrO 3 thin films

“…Although modulating phonon transport poses greater challenges compared with electron transport, thanks to the conceptualization of phononic devices ( 6 ), active and reversible control of phonon transport to mitigate heat-related concerns has stimulated broad research interest ( 5 , 10 , 11 ). Until now, active and reversible control of phonon transport or thermal conductivity k (i.e., thermal switching) has been explored by many different methods: strain engineering ( 10 , 12 ), light-triggered alignment of molecular chains ( 13 , 14 ), electrochemical-controlled phase transition ( 15 ) or ion intercalation ( 16 – 18 ), temperature-triggered phase transition ( 19 , 20 ), and electric field–driven domain wall density change ( 21 – 23 ), etc. For practical applications, high-performance thermal switching should meet three crucial conditions: (i) high switching ratio, (ii) large number of switching cycles, and (iii) short switching time.…”