INT-26059- ELECTROCALORIC EFFECT IN PLASTIC CRYSTALS

The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) is a leading Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) that drives innovation for the economy and society in Luxembourg and beyond. With cutting-edge expertise in Natural, Built, Industrial environments, Space, AI, Security and defence technologies. LIST bridges scientific excellence and applied research to design solutions that address real-world challenges and create positive impact.

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• An organization with a passion for impact and strong RDI partnerships in Luxembourg and Europe that works on responsible and independent research projects
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• 32 days’ paid annual leave, 11 public holidays, 13-month salary, statutory health insurance

Internship contract | Belval | 6 Months

Are you passionate about research? So are we! Come and join us

How will you contribute?

Refrigeration and air conditioning account for approximately 17% of global energy consumption a figure expected to triple by 2050 while contributing over 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Conventional vapor-compression cooling relies on refrigerants with high global-warming potential, creating an urgent need for energy-efficient and environmentally friendly alternatives.

Electrocaloric cooling is a promising solid-state technology that can be up to 20% more efficient than vapor-compression systems. It relies on ferroelectric materials that undergo a reversible temperature change under an applied electric field: the material heats up when the field is applied and cools down when it is removed. This temperature change arises from an entropy variation induced by the electric field. Most materials studied for the electrocaloric effect to date are inorganic. Recent work has shown that plastic crystals—organic–inorganic hybrid compounds can exhibit ferroelectric ordering at low temperature and transition to a disordered "plastic" phase at higher temperature.

Plastic crystals, also called orientationally disordered crystals, are materials whose molecular motion lies between that of a true crystalline solid and a liquid crystal. When the constituent molecules are polar (possessing a permanent dipole) and their reorientational motion is not fully free but instead hops between a few discrete orientations, order-disorder-type ferroelectricity can emerge. Above the transition temperature, the dipoles reorient rapidly and average out, giving a paraelectric "plastic" phase; below it, the reorientational motion slows and the dipoles align cooperatively, producing a net spontaneous polarization that can be switched by an external field.

The intern will investigate the electrocaloric effect in ferroelectric plastic crystals.

• First, the intern will characterize the electrical (ferroelectric) and thermal properties of the materials using an electrical measurement setup and a differential scanning calorimeter, respectively.
• Second, the intern will measure the electrocaloric effect using an existing electrocaloric measurement setup based on an infrared camera.

Is Your profile described below? Are you our future colleague? Apply now!

Education

• Master’s degree in Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, Engineering or other relevant fields.

Experience and skills

• Basics knowledge of materials processing (bulk and/or thin films).
• Experience in materials characterization methods (DSC, electrical characterization) is an asset.

Language skills

• Fluency in English and French both oral and written.