IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v18y2025i5p1257-d1605222.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Photothermal Mineral-Based Composite Phase Change Materials for Direct Solar Energy Utilization: A State-of-the-Art Review

Author

Listed:
  • Yunan Mu

    (Beijing Key Laboratory of Materials Utilization of Nonmetallic Minerals and Solid Wastes, National Laboratory of Mineral Materials, School of Materials Sciences and Technology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China)

  • Libing Liao

    (Beijing Key Laboratory of Materials Utilization of Nonmetallic Minerals and Solid Wastes, National Laboratory of Mineral Materials, School of Materials Sciences and Technology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China)

  • Xiaobin Gu

    (Key Laboratory of Comprehensive and Highly Efficient Utilization of Salt Lake Resources, Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China)

Abstract

Solar energy, the most promising renewable energy, suffers from intermittency and discontinuity. Phase change material (PCM)-based energy storage technology can mitigate this issue and substantially improve the utilization efficiency of solar energy. However, most PCMs have a low photothermal conversion capacity and are prone to leaks. To address these two key issues of PCMs, fine modification and mineral encapsulation have been employed and demonstrated to be effective methods. This review summarizes the structure of mineral materials and discusses the corresponding encapsulation techniques and preparation methods for mineral-based composite PCMs. Based on this, we focus on reviewing methods for enhancing the photothermal conversion performance of mineral-based PCMs and explore their underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, we present practical application cases of photothermal mineral-based composite PCMs, analyzing their potential in photothermal applications. Finally, we discuss the challenges encountered during the synthesis, modification, and application processes of photothermal mineral-based composite PCMs, providing insights into future directions for the efficient utilization of solar energy.

Suggested Citation

  • Yunan Mu & Libing Liao & Xiaobin Gu, 2025. "Photothermal Mineral-Based Composite Phase Change Materials for Direct Solar Energy Utilization: A State-of-the-Art Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-23, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:5:p:1257-:d:1605222
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/5/1257/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/5/1257/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:5:p:1257-:d:1605222. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.