Engineering 2D MXene and LDH into 3D Hollow Framework for Boosting Photothermal Energy Storage and Microwave Absorption

2D MXene is highly preferred for photothermal energy conversion and microwave absorption. However, the aggregation issue, insufficient dielectric loss capacity, and lack of magnetic loss capacity for MXene severely hinder its practical applications. Herein, the authors propose multi-dimensional nanostructure engineering to electrostatically assemble 2D MXene and layered double hydroxides (LDH) derived from ZIF-67 polyhedron into a 3D hollow framework (LDH@MXene), and subsequently calcined to construct a Co nanoparticle-modified 3D hollow C-LDH@MXene framework to encapsulate a paraffin wax (PW) phase change material (PCM). The 3D hollow C-LDH@MXene framework not only prevents 2D MXene from aggregation but also contributes a high thermal energy storage density (131.04 J g-1 ). Benefiting from a 3D conductive network facilitating the rapid transport of photons and phonons from the interface to the interior and the synergistic localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of MXene and Co magnetic nanoparticles, the C-LDH@MXene-PW composite PCM yielded a high photothermal storage efficiency of 96.52%. Besides, C-LDH@MXene-PW composite PCMs also exhibited efficient microwave absorption with a minimum reflection loss of -20.87 dB at 13.30 GHz with a matching thickness of only 2 mm. This distinctive design provides constructive references for the development of integrated composite materials for energy storage and microwave absorption.