Preparation and research progress of phase change microcapsules for photothermal conversion
Phase change microcapsules effectively solve the problems of phase separation,leakage,and corrosion that occur when phase change materials are used.However,traditional phase-change microcapsules often lack light absorption ability and have low utilization of solar energy,whereas by compositing photothermal materials with phase-change microcapsules not only improves the absorption of light and endows phase-change microcapsules with photothermal conversion ability,but also enhances the encapsulation of phase-change materials.Firstly,different kinds of photothermal materials are introduced and the principle of photothermal conversion is analyzed.Afterwards,the use of photothermal materials for the preparation of photothermal phase change microcapsules is analyzed,focusing on the current types of phase change microcapsules for photothermal conversion and the influence of photothermal materials on the performance of phase change microcapsules.Finally,an analysis is conducted on the problems of phase change microcapsules for photothermal conversion,and it is pointed out that it is necessary to simplify the preparation process of phase change microcapsules for photothermal conversion,improve the efficiency of photothermal conversion,and promote their practical application in the field of solar energy utilization.