Metaceramic enables ultrahigh-temperature record rectification and programmable 3D thermal control

Thermal rectification enables asymmetric heat flow and offers transformative potential for thermal management under extreme environments, yet its practical development has been constrained by a fundamental trade-off between high-temperature stability and nonlinear thermal response. Conventional rectifiers face intrinsic limitations, with operating temperatures below 900 kelvin and rectification ratios under 3.5. Here, we present a metaceramic, a monolithic metamaterial ceramic, architected with multiscale graded porosity that synergistically integrates four nonlinear heat transfer mechanisms: ion-tailored conduction, cavity-modulated radiation, chaotic advection-enhanced convection, and spontaneous convective dissipation. This metaceramic achieves a record thermal rectification ratio of 8.5 at 2473 kelvin, surpassing previous benchmarks by over 140%. In addition, the design's continuum-like, functionally partitionable nature enables its extension into a triaxial ultrahigh-temperature rectifier, which provides programmable, volumetric thermal flow control along three independent axes, effectively elevating rectification from a scalar to a tensor-like property. By decoupling and recombining multimodal nonlinearities within a single material, we overcome the classical stability-nonlinearity conflict. Our work establishes a metamaterials platform for breaking thermal reciprocity under extreme conditions, with implications for heat management in hypersonic systems, spacecraft, and energy technologies.

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Publication Details

Journal
Science Advances
Published
2026-06-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aef4765
Primary Topic
Thermal properties of materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Metaceramic enables ultrahigh-temperature record rectification and programmable 3D thermal control

Shuihua Yang, Paolo Colombo, Zongbing Chen, Jian Min Xiong et al.
Science Advances
Thermal properties of materials
article

Metaceramic enables ultrahigh-temperature record rectification and programmable 3D thermal control

Shuihua Yang, Paolo Colombo, Zongbing Chen, Jian Min Xiong, Xinghong Zhang, Qianqian Wu, Jiecai Han, Cheng‐Wei Qiu, Chengrui Yan, Yishu Su, Haoliang Huo
article en

Abstract

Thermal rectification enables asymmetric heat flow and offers transformative potential for thermal management under extreme environments, yet its practical development has been constrained by a fundamental trade-off between high-temperature stability and nonlinear thermal response. Conventional rectifiers face intrinsic limitations, with operating temperatures below 900 kelvin and rectification ratios under 3.5. Here, we present a metaceramic, a monolithic metamaterial ceramic, architected with multiscale graded porosity that synergistically integrates four nonlinear heat transfer mechanisms: ion-tailored conduction, cavity-modulated radiation, chaotic advection-enhanced convection, and spontaneous convective dissipation. This metaceramic achieves a record thermal rectification ratio of 8.5 at 2473 kelvin, surpassing previous benchmarks by over 140%. In addition, the design's continuum-like, functionally partitionable nature enables its extension into a triaxial ultrahigh-temperature rectifier, which provides programmable, volumetric thermal flow control along three independent axes, effectively elevating rectification from a scalar to a tensor-like property. By decoupling and recombining multimodal nonlinearities within a single material, we overcome the classical stability-nonlinearity conflict. Our work establishes a metamaterials platform for breaking thermal reciprocity under extreme conditions, with implications for heat management in hypersonic systems, spacecraft, and energy technologies.

Science AdvancesVol. 12(25)
Pennsylvania State University (US), University of Padua (IT), China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (China) (CN), National University of Singapore (SG), Harbin Institute of Technology (CN), Suzhou Research Institute (CN)
National University of Singapore, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Government of Jiangsu Province, Science and Technology Support Program of Jiangsu Province
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 15%
Thermal properties of materials
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