This paper addresses the first quantitative evaluation of the effect of adsorbent isobar shape on the dynamics of AC (adsorptive chiller) cycle. The numerical and experimental studies of this effect have been performed to answer the question "Which practical enhancement of the AC specific cooling power may be expected when one would use an adsorbent with the optimal isobar shape instead of a real adsorbent typical for AC?". The reference (real) adsorbent is SWS-1L (mesoporous silica gel modified by CaCl2) that was proven to be efficient in AC units driven by waste or renewable heat. The optimal adsorbent is found to provide shorter AC cycles as compared with the real one so that the SCP increases by a factor of 1.5 that is of certain practical importance. In a broader sense, this original approach can be further used to specify requirements for selecting known adsorbents as well as tailoring a new generation of adsorbents optimal for a variety of practically interesting AC cycles. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.