Solar collectors are the core of solar heat utilization technologies, and the thermal performance and heat collecting efficiency determines the development and popularization of solar utilization technologies. In this paper, the typical methods and application areas of solar thermal utilization are summarized, the heat collecting principles and type structures of solar collectors are described and analyzed. To improve the thermal performance of solar collectors, the latest research progress and technology trends of some specific aspect are systematically summarized, including solar collector structure optimization, new collector absorption materials, phase change energy storage technology integrated into solar collector, and solar thermal concentrating technology. Furthermore, the shortages of the current research are also pointed out and the prospects for the future research are provided.

renewable energy  /  solar thermal utilization  /  solar collector  /  phase change energy storage  /  selective absorption coating