Key Laboratory of Optic-electric Sensing and Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, MOEShandong Key Laboratory of Biochemical AnalysisCollege of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266042, P. R. China.
Small. 2023 Mar;19(10):e2206623. doi: 10.1002/smll.202206623. Epub 2022 Dec 19.
Photoresponsive phase change materials (PPCMs) are capable of storing photon and heat energy simultaneously and releasing the stored energy as heat in a controllable way. While, the azobenzene-based PPCMs exhibit a contradiction between gravimetric energy storage density and photoinduced phase change. Here, a type of azobenzene surfactants with balance between molecular free volume and intermolecular interaction is designed in molecular level, which can address the coharvest of photon energy and low-grade heat energy at room temperature. Such PPCMs gain the total gravimetric energy density up to 131.18 J g by charging solid sample and 160.50 J g by charging solution. Notably, the molar isomerization enthalpy upgrades by a factor of up to 2.4 compared to azobenzene. The working mechanism is explained by the computational studies. All the stored energy can release out as heat under Vis light, causing a fast surface temperature rise. This study demonstrates a new molecular designing strategy for developing azobenzene-based PPCMs with high gravimetric energy density by improving the photon energy storage.
光响应相变型材料（PPCMs）能够同时存储光子和热能，并以可控的方式将存储的能量释放为热能。然而，基于偶氮苯的 PPCMs 在重量储能密度和光致相转变之间存在矛盾。在这里，在分子水平上设计了一种具有分子自由体积和分子间相互作用平衡的偶氮苯表面活性剂，它可以同时收集光子能量和室温下的低品位热能。通过对固体样品进行充电，这种 PPCMs 的总重量储能密度高达 131.18 J g，通过对溶液进行充电，其储能密度可达 160.50 J g。值得注意的是，与偶氮苯相比，摩尔异构化焓提高了 2.4 倍。通过计算研究解释了工作机制。所有存储的能量都可以在可见光下释放出来，导致表面温度快速上升。这项研究展示了一种新的分子设计策略，通过提高光子储能来开发具有高重量储能密度的基于偶氮苯的 PPCMs。
