Refrigerant-Free Cooling: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications. (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798279395040)

The world stands at a critical juncture in its energy consumption, and perhaps no sector is more illustrative of this challenge than cooling. As global temperatures rise and the demand for thermal comfort escalates, conventional air conditioning, reliant on high-Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants and energy-intensive vapor compression cycles, is rapidly becoming unsustainable. The cooling crisis is not just an environmental problem; it is an energy security and economic imperative.

This book, Refrigerant-Free Cooling: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications, is a direct response to this crisis. It moves beyond incremental improvements to explore disruptive, material-centric solutions that promise true sustainability and energy independence. We delve into two revolutionary technologies: Passive Radiative Cooling (PRC), which harnesses the coldness of outer space, and advanced Membrane and Sorption Cooling Systems, which manage heat and humidity using novel desiccants like Lithium-Chloride and highly selective Graphene-based architectures.

Our objective is to bridge the gap between fundamental thermal science and cutting-edge materials engineering. We aim to provide a comprehensive, rigorous, and forward-looking text that equips the reader-be they a student, researcher, or industry professional-with the knowledge necessary to design, implement, and commercialize the next generation of cooling technology. The future of sustainable thermal management is not a better compressor; it is a smarter material.