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Updated: Jul 29, 2025
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Advanced Phase Change Materials from Natural Perspectives: Structural Design and Functional Applications.
Lu Liu1, Yuang Zhang1, Shufen Zhang1
1State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontier Science Center for Smart Materials, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, P. R. China.
Summary
Phase change materials (PCMs) face challenges like leakage. Biomimicry offers innovative solutions for enhanced thermal energy storage and advanced applications in heat harvesting.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Thermodynamics
- Biomimetics
Background:
- Phase change materials (PCMs) are crucial for thermal energy storage due to high energy density and isothermal transitions.
- Leakage issues and low efficiency limit the practical application of conventional PCMs.
- Nature provides inspiration for overcoming these limitations in thermal management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advancements in PCM structural design and functionality inspired by natural strategies.
- To explore the structure-function relationships in biomimetic PCMs.
- To discuss emerging applications of these advanced PCMs.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of natural strategies and biomimetic designs for PCMs.
- Analysis of structure-property relationships in nature-inspired PCMs.
- Case studies of advanced applications.
Main Results:
- Natural strategies, such as structural confinement and hierarchical designs, effectively address PCM leakage and improve thermal efficiency.
- Biomimetic PCMs demonstrate enhanced performance for applications in human motion energy harvesting, medicine, and intelligent thermal management.
- Significant progress has been made in developing functional and efficient PCMs through biomimicry.
Conclusions:
- Biomimicry offers a promising pathway for developing next-generation phase change materials.
- Future research should focus on further exploring natural designs for optimized thermal energy storage and diverse applications.
- The biomimicry design spiral guides the evolution of PCMs towards greater efficiency and broader utility.
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