Advancing micro-scale cooling by utilizing liquid-liquid phase separation

Achieving effective cooling within limited space is one of the key challenges for miniaturized product design. State-of-the-art micro-scale cooling enhancement techniques incorporate flow disturbances and boiling to reach high performance. However, these methods face the inherent issues of extra pressure drop, flow instability and dry-out that limits heat flux. Here we demonstrate that substantial cooling capability enhancement, up to 2.5 times, is realized by introducing the phase separation of a triethylamine (TEA)/water mixture at the micro-scale. Our experiments show that the enhancement behavior is closely related to the system’s initial composition, temperature, and flow conditions. Moreover, the mixture system exhibits reduced pressure drop after separation, which makes it more promising in serving practical applications. The results reveal new possibilities for liquid coolant selection and provide the experimental foundation for further research in this area.