A high energy density azobenzene/graphene hybrid: a nano-templated platform for solar thermal storage

Abstract

A high functionalization density and inter-planar bundling interaction remarkably improve both the storage capacity and lifetime of solar thermal fuels using an azobenzene/graphene nano-template.

Photon energy storage materials with high energy densities based on diacetylene–azobenzene derivatives

“…14 Therefore, strategies to increase the energy storage in azobenzene derivatives have been investigated by both computation and experiments, with one effective method shown to be the anchoring of photochromic molecules to rigid templates such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and other hydrocarbons, [15][16][17][18][19][20] which takes advantage of the relative strength of intermolecular interactions in the closepacked trans and cis isomers. Even without the templates, we expect that the intermolecular interactions such as H-bonding, van der Waals force, and p-p interaction can signicantly inuence the photon energy storage density.…”

Fast Photoinduced Large Deformation of Colloidal Spheres from a Novel 4-arm Azobenzene Compound

“…1-11 For example, azobenzene can act as a photon harvesting antenna to transfer energy, to move the polymeric chains to form surface-relief gratings, to induce the phase transition, to change the hydrophilic and hydrophobic property, to induce the film contraction and bending, and to change the geometry of other molecules. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Among them, photoinduced deformations in different forms have attracted considerable research interest for their unique nature and potential applications, which can be used as optical data storage, sensors, actuators, and artificial muscles. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] Colloidal particles with at least one dimension in nanometer to micrometer range have been widely applied in many industrial products.…”

“…After filtration and drying, a purple solid was obtained in 95% yield (0.79 g). 1 H NMR (600 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ = 9.18 (s, 4H), 6.67 (d, 8H), 6.44 ppm (d, 8H) 13. C NMR (150 MHz, DMSO-d 6 ) δ = 155.8, 138.2, 135.6, 132.4, 115.0 ppm.…”

“…NMR,13 C NMR (Figure S1-S7). This material is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.…”

Solid‐State Solar Thermal Fuels for Heat Release Applications

“…More recently, it was possible to develop liquid azobenzene fuels at room temperature by attaching bulky ligands to the molecule, [ 11 ] and with several computational works detailing the possibility of increasing its energy density through functionalization of the benzene rings, [ 12 ] this platform holds much promise for future STF developments. For one, the most recent STF reports have relied on carbon scaffolds [ 10,14 ] that simultaneously increase synthesis complexity, cannot be deposited into uniform fi lms, contribute to the optical density without resulting in photocharging, and introduce uncontrollable morphological effects that may limit charging and reversible switching in the solid-state. [ 13 ] Transitioning fully to the solid-state offers the possibility of integrating STF materials into a multitude of existing solid-state devices such as coatings for deicing, or novel applications such as solar blankets and other consumer oriented heating equipment.…”