Giant barocaloric effect in neopentylglycol-graphene nanosheets composites with large thermal conductivity

We report the enhancement of the thermal conductivity of neopentylglycol (NPG) by compositing it with graphene nanosheets (GPNs). Adding 50 wt% GPNs enhanced the thermal conductivity from 0.42 to 18.4 Wm⁻¹K⁻¹, and the barocaloric entropy change can still reach 122 Jkg⁻¹K⁻¹ under pressure loading of 0 → 1.0 kbar. The obtained composites demonstrated reduced thermal hysteresis, which will facilitate the large reversible entropy change. The present work thus provides a simple and feasible way to enhance the thermal conductivity of plastic crystals with a giant barocaloric effect, and promisingly accelerate the application of these materials in the solid-state refrigeration technique.