Colossal barocaloric effects near room temperature in plastic crystals of neopentylglycol

Abstract

There is great interest, in refrigeration technology, in replacing harmful volatile hydrofluorocarbons with solid materials. Here the authors show that commercially available plastic crystal neopentylglycol displays colossal and reversible barocaloric effects comparable with those exploited in hydrofluorocarbons, which make it suitable for application.