journal article·2026-01

A Flexible Thermal Interface Material as the Heat Switch for Solid‐State Cooling

Wenmei Luo, Xingwei Zhang, Tianlin Luo, Baowen Li, Baojie Wei, Jiongjiong Zhang, Guimei Zhu

Advanced Functional Materials· Volume 36· Issue 4
Publisher page

Abstract

Abstract The development of miniaturized, high‐integrated, and powerful electronic devices needs optimized thermal management solutions that enable active heat flow switching without moving components – a functionality that goes beyond the conventional thermal interface material (TIM). In this work, a flexible composite TIM is developed that enables magnetic field‐triggered direction change of heat flow, namely, the TIM acts effectively as a thermal switch. The material consists of liquid metal@nickel (LM@Ni) networks and diamond microparticles embedded in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. The LM@Ni achieves both enhanced wettability on PDMS and magnetic responsiveness, while diamond provides the composite with high intrinsic thermal conductivity (13.92 W m −1 K −1 ). Upon applying a magnetic field, the composite undergoes a rapid deformation, creating an “on” or “off” state with a switching ratio of 22. By integrating the material with elastocaloric components, all‐solid‐state elastocaloric cooling cycles are successfully realized, which achieves cooling power of 81 W m −2 and heating power of 77 W m −2 . This work not only extends the application of TIM, but also bridges compact solid‐state cooling with efficient thermal management, establishing a new paradigm for TIM in smart thermal management applications.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Thermal properties of materials · Heat Transfer and Optimization · Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies

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

Affiliations

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Southern University of Science and Technology Shenzhen Guangdong 518055 China

Department of Physics Southern University of Science and Technology Shenzhen Guangdong 518055 China

State Key Laboratory of Quantum Functional Materials Southern University of Science and Technology Shenzhen Guangdong 518055 China

School of Microelectronics Southern University of Science and Technology Shenzhen Guangdong 518055 China

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials · Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality

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