Enzymolysis-treated wood-derived hierarchical porous carbon for fluorescence-functionalized phase change materials

Dominating obstacles that currently obstruct the development and industrial application of phase change materials (PCMs) are their low thermal conductivity, high cost, easy leakage and poor mechanical performance. Our goal is to enhance the thermal conductivity and power capacity of PCMs as much as possible using abundant biomass-derived carbon as supports. Herein, cellulase is employed to efficiently hydrolyze segmental cellulose in wood to formulate luxuriant micropores, which contribute to sufficiently expose the interior of the wood to effectively construct luxuriant adsorption sites onto the carbon skeleton during the subsequent high-temperature pyrolysis process. The resulting wood-derived hierarchical porous carbon infiltrates polyethylene glycol (PEG) and sufficiently liberates crystallization via microscopic morphology regulation. The strategy assembles good mechanical performance, high energy storage capacity (151.74 J/g), anisotropic thermal conductivity and improved thermal stability. Furthermore, the composite PCMs loaded with carbon quantum dots (CQDs) integrate the dual advantages of fluorescent function and thermal energy storage, which provides the possibility for the application of enzymolysis-treated wood-supported composite PCMs in specific equipment.