journal article·2026-07-17

Electrochemically Driven Refrigeration Based on Dissolution–Crystallization Cycle of Redox‐Active Salts

Yifan Zhang, Pei Liu, Yilin Zeng, Xuan Cai, Linfeng Wang, Huaiyu Ke, Xue Long, Hua Jiang, Wendong Yang, Zuoxuan Gan, Jiabao Sun, Jia Li, Jiangjiang Duan

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Developing energy‐efficient and environmentally sustainable refrigeration technologies is critically important for mitigating climate change. Here, we report an electrochemically driven dissolution–crystallization refrigeration cycle (EDCR), a liquid‐state electrochemical cooling concept in which cooling is generated by the endothermic dissolution of electrochemically regenerated redox‐active salts. Unlike conventional electrochemical refrigeration, where the cooling effect arises directly from endothermic redox reactions and is therefore partly offset by Joule heating, EDCR spatially separates electrochemical regeneration from dissolution‐based cooling. The EDCR achieves a maximum temperature drop of 5.65 K and a maximum coefficient of performance of up to 15.51 under ideal condition without heat loss, corresponding to a relative Carnot efficiency of 29.8% at room temperature. This proof‐of‐concept study establishes EDCR as a promising hydrofluorocarbon‐free refrigeration strategy and provides a new route for exploring liquid‐state electrochemical cooling cycle.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Adsorption and Cooling Systems · Thermodynamic and Exergetic Analyses of Power and Cooling Systems · Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics School of Optical and Electronic Information Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan China

State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment and Technology School of Mechanical Science and Engineering Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan China

School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Nanyang Technological University Singapore Singapore

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China

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