3 research outputs found
Tightened 1D/3D carbon heterostructure infiltrating phase change materials for solarâthermoelectric energy harvesting: Faster and better
Abstract Extensive use of thermal energy in daily life is ideal for reducing carbon emissions to achieve carbon neutrality; however, the effective collection of thermal energy is a major hurdle. Thermoelectric (TE) conversion technology based on the Seebeck effect and thermal energy storage technology based on phase change materials (PCMs) represent smart, feasible, and researchâworthy approaches to overcome this hurdle. However, the integration of multiple thermal energy sources freely existing in the environment for storage and output of thermal and electrical energy simultaneously still remains a huge challenge. Herein, threeâdimensional (3D) nanostructured metalâorganic frameworks (MOFs) are in situ nucleated and grown onto carbon nanotubes (CNTs) via coordination bonding. After calcination, the prepared coreâshell structural CNTs@MOFs are transformed into tightened 1D/3D carbon heterostructure loading Co nanoparticles for efficient solarâthermoelectric energy harvesting. Surprisingly, the corresponding composite PCMs show a recordâbreaking solarâthermal conversion efficiency of 98.1% due to the tightened carbon heterostructure and the local surface plasmon resonance effect of Co nanoparticles. Moreover, our designed allâinâone composite PCMs are also capable of creating an electrical potential of 0.5âmV based on the Seebeck effect without a TE generator. This promising approach can store thermal and electrical energy simultaneously, providing a new direction in the design of advanced allâinâone multifunctional PCMs for thermal energy storage and utilization