Twist imparts nonlinear shear stress and induces entropy changes in materials, forming the fundamental basis of twistocaloric cooling. This refrigerant-free and energy-efficient approach offers a promising alternative to conventional vapor-compression cooling systems. It provides distinct advantages, including low driving stress, considerable cooling power, and compatibility with flexible devices. Despite increasing efforts, a universal structure-performance relationship linking molecular design to device-level cooling behavior remains elusive. In this review, we summarize recent advances in twistocaloric cooling materials and devices, highlighting the growing demand for twist-based structures in thermal management. We focus on the molecular design and structural characteristics of representative twistocaloric materials, including shape memory alloys, entropy-elastic polymers, and semi -crystalline fibers, and compare their cooling capacities arising from twist-induced stress field and hierarchical molecular alignment. Strategies for enhancing cooling amplitude and coefficient of performance are also discussed alongside emerging device architectures that leverage nonlinear stress fields for high integration, low actuation force, and long cycle life. Further, we present the remaining challenges and further perspectives of the twistocaloric field, emphasizing pathways toward intelligent, mechanically robust, energy-efficient, and environmentally adaptable thermal management technologies. High-performance twistocaloric cooling enabled by functional materials for solid-state refrigeration devices.
Zhang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.