Surface wettability modification of polymers for use in electrocaloric heat pumps

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Maria Barrera - , Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology (Author)
  • Daniel Pinkal - , Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (Author)
  • Michael Wegener - , Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (Author)
  • Cordula Vogel - , Chair of Soil Resources and Land Use (Author)
  • Fred Fietzke - , Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology (Author)

Abstract

Due to their relatively high electrocaloric activity and mechanical flexibility, relaxor ferroelectric terpolymers are being used in the fabrication of electrocaloric cooling and heating devices, in which the heat transfer is done by latent heat when a fluid condenses on (or evaporates from) their surface. This work focuses on improving the surface wettability of flexible polyimide foils, which have been utilized to encapsulate electrocaloric terpolymers for enhancing heat transfer efficiency. The polyimide foils were exposed to a combination of plasma etching and metal oxide thin film deposition using magnetron sputtering technology. With the aim of achieving a complete wetting surface, sputtering parameters such as pulse times, gas concentration and treatment time were varied. The chemical and physical properties of the treated surfaces were analyzed, and their influence on wetting performance was investigated at macro-, micro-, and nanoscale levels. The findings of this study have significant implications for the development of more efficient and reliable electrocaloric heat pumps, contributing to the advancement of environmentally friendly, energy-efficient solid-state cooling and heating technologies.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number132080
JournalSurface and Coatings Technology
Volume505
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-6525-2634/work/182333058

Keywords

Keywords

  • Electrocaloric devices, Flexible polyimide, Long-term superhydrophilicity, Magnetron sputtering, Surface wettability