Arylazopyrazoles for Long-Term Thermal Energy Storage and Optically Triggered Heat Release below 0 °C.

Arylazopyrazole derivatives based on four core structures (4pzMe, 3pzH, 4pzH, and 4pzH-F2) and functionalized with a dodecanoate group were demonstrated to store thermal energy in their metastable isomer liquid phase and release the energy by optically triggered crystallization at -30 °C for the first time. Three heat storage-release schemes were discovered involving different activation methods (optical, thermal, or combined) for generating liquid-state isomers capable of storing thermal energy. Visible light irradiation induced the selective crystallization of the liquid phase via -to- isomerization, and the latent heat stored in the liquid isomers was preserved for longer than 2 weeks unless optically triggered. Up to 92 kJ/mol of thermal energy was stored in the compounds, demonstrating remarkable thermal stability of isomers at high temperatures and liquid-phase stability at temperatures below 0 °C.