Phase-changing crystals could cut air-conditioning’s climate impact

Air conditioning units

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Organic ionic plastic crystals show a ’colossal’ entropy change when undergoing a pressure-induced phase transition

Materials commonly used in batteries can exchange large amounts of heat with the atmosphere when they undergo a pressure-induced phase transition. The effect might mean that organic ionic plastic crystals could find a second use enabling highly-efficient cooling without a refrigerant – dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of air-conditioning in a warming world.