Date: November 16, 2017
Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Summary: Researchers at MIT made a hybrid material i.e A light sensitive material bond to the Phase change material (PCM) that upon shining the different light on them, they change their form in liquid or solid, storing or releasing the energy respectively.
PCMs are materials such as waxes, fatty acids or even salts for high temperature... When given the heat, they store energy and melt themselves but upon their solidification, this energy is released. But these materials require some insulation to stop the heat flow across the barrier. If a light sensitive material is mixed with these, as it was done in MIT, the Phase change will happen only by the interaction of different lights...
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Reference:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171116185959.htm
Journal Reference:
Grace G. D. Han, Huashan Li, Jeffrey C. Grossman. Optically-controlled long-term storage and release of thermal energy in phase-change materials. Nature Communications, 2017; 8 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01608-y