Multifunctional Reversible Self-Assembled Structures of Cellulose-Derived Phase-Change Nanocrystals

Mechanically Robust and Environmentally Stable Solid-Solid Phase Change Materials via Thiolactone Strategy for Versatile Applications

Solid-solid phase change materials (SSPCMs) have received great interest due to their exceptional thermal management and superior shape stability. However, traditional crosslinked structures predominantly rely on ester groups, which limits their applicability under extreme conditions such as high humidity. Herein, a novel strategy is presented for preparing SSPCMs with excellent latent heat and environmental robustness via thiolactone ring-opening reactions. Easily synthesized thiolactone copolymers provide abundant reactive sites which are then functionalized with alkyl amines and alkyl acrylates as grafted phase change components. A small amount of polyetheramine is employed to crosslink the functionalized copolymer, forming a robust network. The resulting SSPCMs exhibit tunable phase transition temperatures (44.7-61.0 °C) and enthalpies (20.3-98.9 J g-1). Owing to the high density of alkyl groups, the SSPCMs can maintain the stability of mechanical properties, phase change properties, and shape when immersed in water, acid, and alkaline conditions for 2 h. In addition, the synthesized phase change films demonstrate reversible information encryption, shape memory and infrared stealth properties. When integrated with polydopamine nanoparticles, these materials also exhibit excellent solar-thermal stores/releases capacity. Collectively, these unique features provide new insights and ideas for the development of the next generation of smart thermal management materials.

Tailoring SiC Nanowire Aerogel in Phase Change Composites with Multiresponsive Thermal Energy Storage

Phase change materials have demonstrated attractive application prospects in various thermal energy storage and management systems. However, the design and manufacture of high-performance phase change composites with tunable thermal properties and multiresponsive thermal energy storage remain a great challenge. Herein, a SiC nanowire aerogel with tailorable porosity and surface was used to encapsulate stearic acid for fabricating phase change composites. The porosity of the SiC nanowire aerogel could be facilely tailored by a uniaxial hot-pressing method, and its surface could be coated with C or SiO2 via chemical vapor deposition or the oxidation method. Meanwhile, the latent heat and thermal conductivity of the phase change composites were tuned by tailoring the porosity and surface of the SiC nanowire aerogel. The resulting phase change composites exhibit ultrahigh latent heat retention (96.9%) and excellent shape stability, cycling stability, and recyclability. In addition, the multiresponsiveness of the phase change composites to temperature, light, electricity, and microwave endows them with the ability to harvest thermal, solar, electric energy, and especially microwave radial energy. This study provides a promising strategy for designing and tailoring phase change composites for multienergy utilization.

Fabrication of clickable bamboo-sourced cellulose nanofibrils for diverse surface modifications: Hydrophobicity and fluorescence functionalities

Surface functionalization of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) is crucial for expanding their practical application. However, most functionalization processes are complicated and laborious. Herein, this work presents a facile surface engineering strategy to create a range of functionalized CNF via thiol-ene click reaction. Initially, clickable CNF was produced by grafting a compound with both carboxylate- and norbornene groups onto bamboo cellulose via norbornene-dicarboxylic anhydride esterification followed by homogenization. The introduction of negatively charged carboxylates facilitated nanofibrillation, resulting in CNF with a diameter of 3 nm and an aspect ratio of up to 600. The introduction of norbornenes enabled diverse functionalization of CNF through click reaction. Subsequently, hexadecanethiol successfully clicked with norbornene-grafting CNF, enhancing its hydrophobicity and dispersion in organic solvents. 7-mercapto-4-methyl coumarin was also able to click with norbornene-grafting CNF, yielding fluorescence-labeled CNF while maintaining excellent aqueous dispersibility. The fluorescence-labeled CNF was demonstrated to be utilized as an eco-friendly sensor for the detection of Fe3+ ions. Additionally, it could be converted into fluorescent films or intelligent inks suitable for anti-counterfeiting purposes. This study demonstrates that the proposed surface engineering strategy provides an effective approach for producing clickable CNF and fabricating cellulosic materials with diverse functionalities that meet the demands of various applications.

Roll-to-Roll Manufacturing of Breathable Superhydrophobic Membranes

Self-cleaning and anti-biofouling are both advantages for lotus-leaf-like superhydrophobic surfaces. Methods for creating superhydrophobicity, including chemical bonding low surface energy molecular fragments and constructing surface morphology with protrusions, micropores, and trapped micro airbags by traditional physical strategies, unfortunately, have encountered challenges. They often involve complex synthesis processes, stubborn chemical accumulation, brutal degradation, or infeasible calculation and imprecise modulation in fabricating hierarchical surface roughness. Here, a scalable method to prepare high-quality, breathable superhydrophobic membranes is proposed by developing a successive roll-to-roll laser manufacturing technique, which offers advantages over conventional fabrication approaches in enabling automatically large-scale production and ensuring cost-effectiveness. Nanosecond laser writing and femtosecond laser drilling produce surface microstructures and micropore arrays, respectively, endowing the membrane with superior antiwater capability with hierarchical microstructures forming a barrier and blocking water infiltration. The membrane's breathability is carefully optimized by tailoring micropore arrays to allow for the adequate passage of water vapor while maintaining superhydrophobicity. These membranes combine the benefits of anti-aqueous corrosive liquid behaviors, photothermal effects, thermoplastic properties, and stretchable performances as promising comprehensive materials in diverse scenes.

Co-assembly of stearoylated cellulose nanocrystals and GO (or CNTs) for the construction of superhydrophobic hierarchical structure with enhanced photothermal conversion

The development of photothermal materials with high photothermal-conversion efficiencies is important in a range of applications, such as power generation, sterilization, desalination, and energy-production. To date, a few reports have been published related to improving the photothermal conversion performances of photothermal materials based on self-assembled nanolamellae. Herein, hybrid films of co-assembled stearoylated cellulose nanocrystals (SCNCs) and polymer-grafted graphene oxide (pGO)/polymer-grafted carbon nanotubes (pCNTs) were prepared. The chemical compositions, microstructures, and morphologies of these products were characterized, and it was found that the self-assembled SCNC structures exhibited numerous surface nanolamellae due to crystallization of the long alkyl chains. The hybrid films (i.e., SCNC/pGO and SCNC/pCNTs films) consisted of ordered nanoflake structures, confirming the co-assembly behavior of the SCNCs with pGO or pCNTs. The melting temperature (~65 °C) and latent heat of melting (87.87 J/g) of SCNC_1.07 indicate its potential to induce the formation of nanolamellar pGO or pCNTs. Under light irradiation (50-200 mW/cm²), the pCNTs exhibited a higher light absorption capacity than pGO, and as a result, the SCNC/pCNTs film exhibited the best photothermal performance and electrical conversion, ultimately demonstrating its potential for use as a solar thermal device in practical applications.

Phase Change Thermal Storage Materials for Interdisciplinary Applications

Functional phase change materials (PCMs) capable of reversibly storing and releasing tremendous thermal energy during the isothermal phase change process have recently received tremendous attention in interdisciplinary applications. The smart integration of PCMs with functional supporting materials enables multiple cutting-edge interdisciplinary applications, including optical, electrical, magnetic, acoustic, medical, mechanical, and catalytic disciplines etc. Herein, we systematically discuss thermal storage mechanism, thermal transfer mechanism, and energy conversion mechanism, and summarize the state-of-the-art advances in interdisciplinary applications of PCMs. In particular, the applications of PCMs in acoustic, mechanical, and catalytic disciplines are still in their infancy. Simultaneously, in-depth insights into the correlations between microscopic structures and thermophysical properties of composite PCMs are revealed. Finally, current challenges and future prospects are also highlighted according to the up-to-date interdisciplinary applications of PCMs. This review aims to arouse broad research interest in the interdisciplinary community and provide constructive references for exploring next generation advanced multifunctional PCMs for interdisciplinary applications, thereby facilitating their major breakthroughs in both fundamental researches and commercial applications.

Microencapsulated phase change material via Pickering emulsion based on xylan nanocrystal for thermoregulating application

Phase change materials (PCM) are promising for thermal regulation and energy storage, but suffer from the deformation and leakage of capsules. Herein, inspired by cellulose nanocrystal (CNC), xylan nanocrystal (XNC) with a dimension of 25-60 nm was successfully prepared through oxalic acid hydrolysis of high-crystalline xylan as raw materials via a top-down approach. With the introduction of hydrophobic groups, compared to XNC, succinylated XNC showed more remarkable emulsifying property over 7 days of storage at room temperature. Microencapsulated PCM composite consisting of sodium alginate (SA) as "matrix" and succinylated xylan nanocrystal (XNC) stabilized paraffin-based Pickering capsule (PCM beads) as "core" was facilely fabricated. PCM composite with the latent heat of 105.59 J·g^-1 showed excellent thermoregulating performance. Our work suggests a new pathway toward sustainability of hemicelluloses in the application of food emulsion and thermal energy management.

Tunable Thermoresponsive Flexible Films for Adaptive Temperature Management and Visual Temperature Monitoring

Effective temperature management is essential for human thermal comfort and health. Although various temperature regulation materials have been proposed previously, there are few materials that have the dual functions of temperature monitoring and thermal management. Herein, a thermoresponsive form-stable flexible film based on phase-change materials (PCMs) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is rationally designed. The resultant versatile PCM@PDMS film is able to absorb and release heat responding to temperature stimuli and good mechanical strength. Moreover, optical visibility of the PCM@PDMS film can be reversibly converted between opaque and transparent states to monitor temperature. The switching principle is that solid PCMs embedded in the PDMS would be melted into liquid PCMs to enable light through the PCM@PDMS. The thermal experiment results suggest that the PCM@PDMS films can effectively regulate the human body temperature to adapt to the demanding environment (self-heating more than 3 °C in the cold environment or self-cooling more than 4 °C in the hot environment). Such dual-function films open a pathway to develop smart personalized thermoregulation materials for human body thermal management and temperature monitoring.

Flexible engineering of advanced phase change materials

Liquid phase leakage, intrinsic rigidity, and easy brittle failure are the longstanding bottlenecks of phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage, which seriously hinder their widespread applications in advanced energy-efficient systems. Emerging flexible composite PCMs that are capable of enduring certain deformation and guaranteeing superior mutual contact with integrated devices are considered as a cutting-edge effective solution. Flexible PCMs-based thermal regulation technology can reallocate thermal energy and regulate the temperature within an optimal range. Currently, tireless efforts are devoted to the development of versatile flexible PCMs-based thermal regulation devices, and a big step forward has been taken. Herein, we systematically outline fabrication techniques, flexibility evaluation strategies, advanced functions and advances of flexible composite PCMs. Furthermore, existing challenges and future perspectives are provided in terms of flexible PCMs-based thermal regulation techniques. This insightful review aims to provide an in-depth understanding and constructive guidance of engineering advanced flexible multifunctional PCMs.

Synthesis and Properties of Shape-Stabilized Phase Change Materials Based on Poly(triallyl isocyanurate-silicone)/n-Octadecane Composites

Triallyl isocyanurate (TAIC) was modified by hydrogen silicone oil (SO) via hydrosilylation reaction, generating the original TAIC-SO (TS) intermediate. After the cross-linking polymerization of TS (PTS), the shape-stabilized phase change materials (PCMs) consisting of n-octadecane and silicone-modified supporting matrix were first synthesized by an in situ reaction. Remarkably, the novel three-dimensional PTS network effectively prevents the leakage of n-octadecane during its phase transition, solving the prominent problem of solid-liquid PCMs in practical applications. Moreover, n-octadecane is uniformly dispersed in the continuous and high-strength cross-linked network, contributing to excellent thermal reliability and structural stability of PTS/n-octadecane (TSO) composites. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis of the optimal TSO composite indicates that melting and freezing temperatures are 29.05 and 22.89 °C, and latent heats of melting and freezing are 130.35 and 129.81 J/g, respectively. After comprehensive characterizations, the shape-stabilized TSO composites turn out to be promising in thermal energy storage applications. Meanwhile, the strategy is practical and economical due to its advantages of easy operation, mild conditions, short reaction time, and low energy consumption.

Natural wood-derived free-standing films as efficient and stable separators for high-performance lithium ion batteries

A sustainable and low-cost separator is highly required for electrochemical energy storage systems. Herein, a type of modified natural wood film with excellent mechanical properties, ion conductivity and thermal stability is fabricated for high-performance lithium ion batteries. Using the modified natural wood film as a separator, the fabricated symmetric cell exhibits a more stable and lower plating/stripping voltage for Li than that of the cell with a commercialized polypropylene (PP) separator. The LiFePO₄/Li half-cell with the modified wood film separator shows a small polarization voltage and high discharge capacity because of the multi-level nanostructure and abundant functional groups of the modified wood films. The results suggest that the modified wood films are a promising candidate for use as separators in lithium ion batteries. As desired, the LiFePO₄/Li half-cells with the modified wood film separator deliver much higher discharge capacities and more stable Coulomb efficiency over two hundred charge/discharge cycles than the cell based on the PP separator. The present work systematically investigate the feasibility of abundant and cheap natural wood-derived materials for use as efficient separators instead of synthetic polymers for high-performance lithium ion batteries with long cycle life.

Robust and durable liquid-repellent surfaces

This review provides a comprehensive summary of characterization, design, fabrication, and application of robust and durable liquid-repellent surfaces.