High-flux and stable thin-film evaporation from fiber membranes with interconnected pores

Abstract

Capillary-driven thin-film evaporation in nanoporous membranes has emerged as a promising thermal management strategy for high-power electronic devices, owing to its high theoretical critical heat flux (CHF) enabled by the extensive evaporating areas within the nanopores. In this study, we investigate fiber membranes with three-dimensional interconnected open pores as efficient evaporators. Unlike traditional membranes with isolated pores, these open structures facilitate rapid and uniform liquid transport through multiple pathways, effectively reducing clogging and ensuring consistent wetting across the surface. Capillary-driven evaporation achieved a maximum CHF of over 800 W cm⁻² on a relatively large heating area of approximately 0.5 cm², attributed to the larger effective thin-film evaporation areas provided by the open-pore structures. Moreover, the fiber membranes demonstrated long-term stability. These findings suggest that 3D fiber membrane evaporators are highly promising for advanced thermal management, offering efficient, stable cooling solutions to meet the demands of modern electronic systems.