ZnO nanorods loading with fatty amine as composite PCMs device for efficient light-to-thermal and electro-to-thermal conversion

Phase change materials (PCMs) with ideal light-to-thermal conversion efficiency play an important role in solar energy storage and conversion. Hence, we report the fabrication of a novel composite PCMs (CPCMs) device based on ZnO nanorods deposited indium tin oxide (ITO) glass loading with fatty amines. ZnO nanorods were deposited on the ITO glass using a three-electrode electrodeposition method, and 1-Hexadecylamine (HDA) was loaded on the ITO glass via spin-coating, followed by spraying polypyrrole (ppy) on the surface of CPCM device to improve thermal conductivity and solar absorption. The as-prepared CPCM device exhibits excellent light-to-thermal conversion efficiency, achieving a high conversion efficiency of 90.2% obtained at 1sun owing to its high light absorption (80%), enhanced thermal conductivity (improved by 57.8%), and the unique vertical aligned nanorods structure which could significantly decrease tortuosity, thereby reducing thermal route and lowering thermal response time. Furthermore, the electro-to-thermal conversion efficiency of the CPCMs device has also been investigated and the results show that it can reach up to 69.8% under a low voltage of 5 V, indicating that the CPCM device has a high potential in the field of electro-to-thermal conversion. Based on the benefits listed above, the CPCM device may serve an ideal platform for a wide range of solar energy storage and conversion applications.