Phase change materials (PCMs) having a large latent heat during solid-liquid phase transition are promising for thermal energy storage applications. However, the relatively low thermal conductivity of the majority of promising PCMs (<10 W/ (m ⋅ K)) limits the power density and overall storage efficiency.
PCMs are the key factors that determine the phase-change thermal storage performance of composite materials, and they should have high phase-change enthalpy and suitable phase-change temperature. The commonly used PCMs include organic waxes, inorganic salt hydrides, metals, etc.
Photo-controlled phase-change thermal storage composite materials can regulate the temperature of buildings, automobiles, and other applications; Electric-thermal conversion or magnetic-thermal conversion phase-change thermal storage composite materials can control the temperature of medical equipment, food preservation, and other applications.
The thermal storage materials exhibited phase change behavior within a temperature range of 123–125 °C, and possessed heat of fusion values of 71.95–97 kJ/kg.
Based on PCMs, photo-thermal conversion phase-change composite energy storage technology has advanced quickly in recent years and has been applied to solar collector systems, personal thermal management, battery thermal management, energy-efficient buildings and more. The future research should address:
Therefore, the development of energy storage materials is crucial. Thermal energy storage (TES) systems based on phase change materials (PCMs) have increased in prominence over the past two decades, not only because of their outstanding heat storage capacities but also their superior thermal energy regulation capability.