In the development of electronic devices, energy-saving technologies, and new display technologies, “how to control heat” has become an important issue. Thermoelectric crystals, also known as “thermal switches,” have attracted much attention in recent years, offering a new method for regulating heat flow using electrical signals. A research team at Hokkaido University recently announced that they have successfully created an all-solid-state thermal switch using common and inexpensive cerium dioxide, with performance far exceeding previous models, significantly advancing the practical application of thermal management technology.
Table of Contents
The remarkable comeback of inexpensive materials: the rediscovery of the potential of cerium dioxide.
Traditional high-performance thermal switches typically rely on rare metals such as cobalt or nickel as the active layer. These metals are also widely used in lithium-ion batteries, leading to resource pressures as demand surges. Hokkaido University’s innovation lies in abandoning rare metals and instead using inexpensive and abundant cerium dioxide. This material is essentially a polishing powder widely used in the glass industry; it is readily available and inexpensive, yet it has shown unexpectedly high potential in the field of thermal control.
The research team consisted of postdoctoral researcher John Allen, Professor Hiromichi Ota, and graduate student Mitsuo Yoshimura. They successfully demonstrated that even using such common materials, it is possible to create high-performance thermal control components that surpass previous technologies.
Switching thermal conductivity between oxidation and reduction: the operating mechanism of a thermal switch
The research team fabricated an all-solid-state thermal switch using cerium dioxide as the active layer. After heating it to 280°C in air, they used electrical signals to alter the material’s electrochemical state, thereby switching its thermal conductivity. When the material was in a reduced state, its thermal conductivity decreased significantly, while in an oxidized state, thermal conductivity increased dramatically.
The thermal conductivity in the most reduced state is approximately 2.2 W/mK, while it reaches 12.5 W/mK in the oxidized state. The difference in thermal conductivity between on and off is quite remarkable, with a switching range of up to 10.3 W/mK, which is about twice that of existing thermal switches using SrCoOx or LaNiOx thin films, and the operation is stable and reliable.
This performance breakthrough means that thermal switches can be more sensitive and efficient, significantly improving functionality in a variety of thermal management applications.
Thermal management is finding new applications: from energy saving to thermal displays
This achievement is not only a breakthrough in materials science but also a significant milestone in the practical application of thermal management technology. The technology, capable of electrically switching thermal conductivity, is expected to be used in thermal displays in the future, presenting images or information through different thermal contrasts, opening up a display method different from traditional screens. Furthermore, this high-performance thermal switch will also play a crucial role in intelligent heat dissipation, waste heat utilization, and next-generation thermal logic components.
A research team from Hokkaido University stated that they had already developed two generations of all-solid-state thermal switches in 2023 and 2024, but these still required the use of rare metal materials. The achievement using cerium dioxide this time symbolizes that thermal switch technology has officially moved from “experimentally feasible” to “mass-producible and widely applicable,” significantly narrowing the distance to its practical application.
Future Outlook: Towards Truly Mass-Producible Thermal Control Component Technology
This research was published in the journal *Science Advances* on January 2, 2025, and a patent application was filed simultaneously. The research team will next focus on modifying the microstructure of the material to further improve its thermal conductivity switching performance, and will also begin fabricating a prototype thermal display to bring this technology into everyday applications.
Conclusion
Research from Hokkaido University has successfully demonstrated that cutting-edge technology does not necessarily rely on expensive or scarce materials. Cerium dioxide, abundant on Earth and often considered a common industrial material, can be cleverly designed into a breakthrough high-performance thermal switch core. This achievement not only improves the efficiency of thermal management components but also accelerates the technology’s transition from the laboratory to practical applications, and is expected to have a profound impact on energy conservation, displays, electronic devices, and future thermal control.
References:
- A high-performance thermal switch has been developed using cerium dioxide, which is expected to double the range of thermal conductivity switching.
- Realizing ultra-high performance thermal switches using common materials – accelerating the development of practical thermal control devices – (Professor Hiromichi Ota, National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology)
(Image source: Hokkaido University)
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