A research paper titled “Direct Observation of Tunable Thermal Conductance at Solid/Porous Crystalline Solid Interfaces Induced by Water Adsorbates” authored by Prof. ZHOU Yanguang, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), and his PhD students was recently published in first-rate multidisciplinary journal Nature Communications.

In their study, the team designed a strategy by utilizing the water adsorption-desorption process in porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to tune interfacial heat transfer, which could benefit their potential in cooling or heat dissipation applications. Their findings revealed the underlying mechanisms for tailoring thermal transport at the solid/porous MOF heterointerfaces by water adsorbates, which could motivate and benefit the new cooling system design based on MOFs.

The paper was co-authored by Prof. Zhou and his PhD students WANG Guang, FAN Hongzhao and LI Jiawang, as well as departmental faculty Prof. LI Zhigang.