Excellent Temperature-Control Based on Reversible Thermochromic Materials for Light-Driven Phase Change Materials System

Light-driven phase change materials (PCMs) have received significant attention due to their capacity to convert visible light into thermal energy, storing it as latent heat. However, continuous photo-thermal conversion can cause the PCMs to reach high thermal equilibrium temperatures after phase tra...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Caixia Ren, Fangfang Liu, Malik Muhammad Umair, Xin Jin, Shufen Zhang, Bingtao Tang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-04-01
Series:Molecules
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/24/8/1623
Description
Summary:Light-driven phase change materials (PCMs) have received significant attention due to their capacity to convert visible light into thermal energy, storing it as latent heat. However, continuous photo-thermal conversion can cause the PCMs to reach high thermal equilibrium temperatures after phase transition. In our study, a novel light-driven phase change material system with temperature-control properties was constructed using a thermochromic compound. Thermochromic phase change materials (TC-PCMs) were prepared by introducing 2-anilino-6-dibutylamino-3-methylfluoran (ODB-2) and bisphenol A (BPA) into 1-hexadecanol (1-HD) in various proportions. Photo-thermal conversion performance was investigated with solar radiation (low power of 0.09 W/cm<sup>2</sup>) and a xenon lamp (at a high power of 0.14 W/cm<sup>2</sup>). The TC-PCMs showed a low equilibrium temperature due to variations in absorbance. Specifically, the temperature of TC-PCM<sub>180</sub> (ODB-2, bisphenol A and 1-HD ratio 1:2:180) could stabilize at 54 &#176;C approximately. TC-PCMs exhibited reversibility and repeatability after 20 irradiation and cooling cycles.
ISSN:1420-3049