A metal-organic framework for efficient water-based ultra-low-temperature-driven cooling

Dirk Lenzen; Jingjing Zhao; Sebastian-Johannes Ernst; Mohammad Wahiduzzaman; A Ken Inge; Dominik Fröhlich; Hongyi Xu; Hans-Jörg Bart; Christoph Janiak; Stefan Henninger; Guillaume Maurin; Xiaodong Zou; Norbert Stock

doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10960-0

A metal-organic framework for efficient water-based ultra-low-temperature-driven cooling

Nat Commun. 2019 Jul 9;10(1):3025. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-10960-0.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Institut für Anorganische Chemie, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Max-Eyth-Str. 2, 24118, Kiel, Germany.
² Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.
³ Department Heating and Cooling Technologies, Group Sorption Materials, Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE, Heidenhofstrasse 2, 79110, Freiburg, Germany.
⁴ TU Kaiserslautern, Chair of Separation Science and Technology, P.O. Box 3049, 67653, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
⁵ Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, Université Montpellier, UMR 5253 CNRS ENSCM UM, 34095 Montpellier, France.
⁶ Institut für Anorganische Chemie und Strukturchemie I, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
⁷ Department Heating and Cooling Technologies, Group Sorption Materials, Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE, Heidenhofstrasse 2, 79110, Freiburg, Germany. stefan.henninger@ise.fraunhofer.de.
⁸ Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, Université Montpellier, UMR 5253 CNRS ENSCM UM, 34095 Montpellier, France. guillaume.maurin@univ-montp2.fr.
⁹ Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden. xzou@mmk.su.se.
¹⁰ Institut für Anorganische Chemie, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Max-Eyth-Str. 2, 24118, Kiel, Germany. stock@ac.uni-kiel.de.

Abstract

Efficient use of energy for cooling applications is a very important and challenging field in science. Ultra-low temperature actuated (T_driving < 80 °C) adsorption-driven chillers (ADCs) with water as the cooling agent are one environmentally benign option. The nanoscale metal-organic framework [Al(OH)(C₆H₂O₄S)] denoted CAU-23 was discovered that possess favorable properties, including water adsorption capacity of 0.37 g_H2O/g_sorbent around p/p₀ = 0.3 and cycling stability of at least 5000 cycles. Most importantly the material has a driving temperature down to 60 °C, which allows for the exploitation of yet mostly unused temperature sources and a more efficient use of energy. These exceptional properties are due to its unique crystal structure, which was unequivocally elucidated by single crystal electron diffraction. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to reveal the water adsorption mechanism at the atomic level. With its green synthesis, CAU-23 is an ideal material to realize ultra-low temperature driven ADC devices.