A sweeping new review published in the Journal of Materials Science argues that a family of two-dimensional materials known as MXenes could solve the most stubborn problems holding back phase change materials, the substances that quietly store and release enormous amounts of heat as they melt and freeze. Written by Yishen Wu, Yihan Huang, and Lei Li of the School of Petroleum Engineering at China University of Petroleum in Qingdao, the review synthesizes a decade of progress in combining MXenes with solid-liquid phase change materials, or PCMs, and maps out how these composites could underpin everything from solar energy storage to battery safety and infrared camouflage. The work arrives at a moment when the so-called dual carbon goals of peaking and then neutralizing carbon emissions have made efficient thermal energy storage a strategic priority, particularly for smoothing out the intermittency of solar and wind power.
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