Hierarchically porous composite fabrics with ultrahigh metal–organic framework loading for zero-energy-consumption heat dissipation

Abstract

The long-term safe operation of high-power equipment and integrated electronic devices requires efficient thermal management, which in turn increases the energy consumption further. Hence, the sustainable development of our society needs advanced thermal management with low, even zero, energy consumption. Harvesting water from the atmosphere, followed by moisture desorption to dissipate heat, is an efficient and feasible approach for zero-energy-consumption thermal management. However, current methods are limited by the low absorbance of water, low water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) and low stability, thus resulting in low thermal management capability. In this study, we report an innovative electrospinning method to process hierarchically porous metal–organic framework (MOF) composite fabrics with high-efficiency and zero-energy-consumption thermal management. The composite fabrics are highly loaded with MOF (75 wt%) and their WVTR value can be up to 3138 g m−2 d–1. The composite fabrics also exhibit stable microstructure and performance. Under a conventional environment (30 ℃, 60% relative humidity), the composite fabrics adsorb water vapor for regeneration within 1.5 h to a saturated value Wsat of 0.614 g g−1, and a corresponding equivalent enthalpy of 1705.6 J g−1. In the thermal management tests, the composite fabrics show a strong cooling capability and significantly improve the performance of thermoelectric devices, portable storage devices and wireless chargers. These results suggest that hierarchically porous MOF composite fabrics are highly promising for thermal management of intermittent-operation electronic devices.