Photoswitchable compounds are promising materials for solar-thermal energy conversion and storage. In particular, photoresponsive azobenzene-containing compounds are proposed as materials for solar-thermal fuels. In this feature article, solar-thermal fuels based on azobenzene-containing polymers (azopolymers) are reviewed. The mechanism of azopolymer-based solar-thermal fuels is introduced, and computer simulations and experimental results on azopolymer-based solar-thermal fuels are highlighted. Different types of azopolymers such as linear azopolymers, 2D azopolymers, and conjugated azopolymers are addressed. The advantages and limitations of these azopolymers for solar-thermal energy conversion and storage, along with the remaining challenges of azopolymer-based solar-thermal fuels, are discussed.

中文翻译：

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使用含光响应性偶氮苯的聚合物进行太阳能热能转换和存储。

光开关化合物是用于太阳能热能转换和存储的有前途的材料。特别地，提出了含有光响应性的含偶氮苯的化合物作为太阳能燃料的材料。在这篇专题文章中，对基于含偶氮苯的聚合物（偶氮聚合物）的太阳热燃料进行了综述。介绍了基于偶氮聚合物的太阳能燃料的机理，重点介绍了基于偶氮聚合物的太阳能燃料的计算机模拟和实验结果。提出了不同类型的偶氮聚合物，例如线性偶氮聚合物，2D偶氮聚合物和共轭偶氮聚合物。讨论了这些偶氮聚合物在太阳能热能转换和存储方面的优势和局限性，以及基于偶氮聚合物的太阳能燃料的其余挑战。