Highly flexible phase-change film with solar thermal storage and sensitive motion detection for wearable thermal management

Nb2CTx MXene/Delignified Wood–Supported Phase-Change Composites with Desirable Photothermal Conversion Efficiency and Enhanced Flame Retardancy for Solar–Thermal Energy Storage

“…Among various PCMs, n -alkanes are regarded as the most attractive candidates for solar–thermal conversion and storage owing to their excellent thermal storage capacity, suitable operating temperature, chemical stability, and ecological benignity. − However, their extensive applications are greatly limited due to their liquid leakage issues during TES. − Encapsulating normal alkanes into microporous materials, such as graphene aerogels, porous silica, carbon foam, expanded graphite, and metal–organic frameworks, can effectively surmount the problem of PCM liquid leakage and help fabricate form-stable PCM composites. − Delignified wood (DW), from which lignin and hemicellulose have been removed, has recently been considered an attractive prospective packaging framework for supporting PCMs owing to its desirable mechanical strength, unique hierarchical structure, renewability, and low cost . However, the poor photothermal transformation properties and high flammability of DW-based aerogels and paraffin waxes drastically constrain their application in solar–thermal harvesting technologies. − Therefore, creating DW-supported and form-stabilized composite PCMs with a desirable photothermal conversion efficiency and enhanced fire resistance is imperative.…”

Highly Stretchable Ti3C2Tx MXene-Integrated Phase Change Films for Solar-Thermal Harvesting and Infrared Stealth

“…Nowadays, some researchers use flexible skeletons of foams or fibers encapsulating organic PCMs to construct PCM composites, in which the flexible substrate exhibits low modulus and good flexibility, with the aim of imparting flexibility to the prepared PCM composites. − Nevertheless, due to the rigidity and brittleness of organic PCM in the crystalline state, PCM composites prepared by filling organic PCM into porous flexible substrates tend to exhibit limited flexibility only after the ambient temperature is above the melting point and a solid-to-liquid transition has occurred, which is not an exact match for the high degree of stretchability required by wearable devices. Thus, the development of highly flexible and stretchable phase change films (PCFs) is critical for the application of PCM composites in the wearable thermal management. , …”