Scattered Co-anchored MoS2 synergistically boosting photothermal capture and storage of phase change materials

Pristine phase change materials (PCMs) suffer from inherent deficiencies of poor solar absorption and photothermal conversion. Herein, we proposed a strategy of co-incorporation of zero-dimensional metal nanoparticles and two-dimensional photothermal materials in PCMs for efficient capture and conversion of solar energy into thermal energy. Highly scattered Co-anchored MoS2 nanoflower cluster serving as photon and phonon triggers was prepared by in-situ hydrothermal growth of ZIF67 polyhedron on two-dimensional MoS2 and subsequent high-temperature carbonization. After encapsulating thermal storage unit (paraffin wax), the obtained composite PCMs integrated high-performance photothermal conversion and thermal energy storage capability. Benefiting from the synergistic enhancement of 0D Co nanoparticles with localized surface plasmon resonance effect, carbon layer with the conjugation effect and 2D MoS2 with strong solar absorption, composite PCMs exhibited a high photothermal conversion efficiency of 95.19%. Additionally, the resulting composite PCMs also demonstrated long-term thermal storage stability and durable structural stability after 300 thermal cycles. The proposed collaborative co-incorporation strategy provides some innovative references for developing next-generation photothermal PCMs in solar energy utilization.