Highly thermally conductive composite phase-change materials doped with two-dimensional heterogeneous nanohybrids for photo/electro-thermal energy storage

Phase-change thermal storage technology can solve the problem of mismatch between supply and demand of thermal energy. In this study, a meso-erythritol/two-dimensional heterogeneous nanohybrids/expanded graphite (mE/2DHN/EG) composite phase-change material (PCM) was prepared using hydrothermal and molding methods. The experimental results show that the mE/2DHN/EG composite PCM has excellent thermal, photo-thermal conversion, and electro-thermal conversion properties. The thermal conductivity of mE/2DHN/EG is as high as 12.36 W m−1 K−1, which is 17.31 times that of pure mE. In addition, the photo-thermal conversion efficiency of mE/2DHN/EG can reach 75.72 % under the action of 2DHN and can convert a low driving voltage (2.08 V) into medium-high temperature heat (>130 °C) with an efficiency of 70.07 %. This study provides a cost-effective way to manage the photo/electro-thermal response of PCMs.