Professor Gwang-woon Jeong's research team (College of Engineering, Department of Polymer -Nano Science &Technology; Graduate School, Department of Nano Convergence Engineering) has developed a smart polymer material that combines excellent thermal conductivity with efficient thermal management using mesogen-based reactive molecules, and published the results in an international journal.

The study was led by Hye-Yun Ko, a doctoral student in the Graduate School, and was selected as the cover article of the March issue of Polymer Chemistry, the polymer science journal published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Last year, Ko was also selected as the cover article of the August issue of the Journal of Chemical Education, published by the American Chemical Society, for research developing smart photonic crystal paint that displays various reflective colors by controlling the helical structure of liquid crystalline monomers, demonstrating outstanding research achievements.

The team developed a smart heat-dissipating polymer material that exhibits far superior thermal conductivity compared with commercially available polymer materials and can store and release heat during phase transitions to enable efficient thermal management.

They also conducted research to control morphological stability through intermolecular bonding to enable energy storage during phase transitions without external leakage.

The developed smart heat-dissipating polymer material can maximize energy efficiency and is expected to be applicable in various fields requiring energy savings, such as next-generation construction and aerospace.

Hye-Yun Ko, who led the research, said, "Efficient thermal energy management technology is an essential technology for future industries," and added, "I will continue to dedicate myself to research on this technology to advance the technical capabilities of foundational materials industries and to pursue further research."

This research was carried out with the support of the National Research Foundation of Korea (Original Technology Development Program, Basic Research Laboratory Support Program, and Mid-Career Researcher Support Program).